Sawmill, Tehachapi, California building

Sawmill Tehachapi, California Family Retreat, Kern County Architecture Images

Sawmill in Tehachapi, California

Family Retreat in Kern County in CA, United States building design by Olson Kundig Architects

Apr 18, 2017

Design: Olson Kundig Architects

Location: Tehachapi, Kern County, California, USA

Sawmill building in Tehachapi, Kern County

Sawmill, Tehachapi, California

Photos by Kevin Scott

Sawmill building Tehachapi, California

Set in the remote, harsh high desert of California, Sawmill is a family retreat that reflects and weaves into the beautiful, tough, scrubby site. Tough as nails, the house is built to respond to drastic climate variations and is completely off-the-grid, relying on its own solar power and well water.

The roof acts as a sun shield or parasol while the house functions as an open-air pavilion when the weather is temperate, thanks to the twenty-six-by-twelve-foot sliding window wall that opens the entire living area to the outdoors.

Sawmill, Tehachapi, California

The layout by Olson Kundig is likewise simple and straightforward. Each family member has a private zone that projects out from the main family gathering space: one box for the parents and a box for each of their two kids (and, someday, their future families and extended families). The program also includes an office, a studio workspace, and downstairs storage.

Sawmill, Tehachapi, California

A massive concrete fireplace contains a unique ventilation system based on a Russian/Finnish design. Outside air is introduced under the hearth from the basement rather than pulling tramp air – air from the outdoors – in through the building envelope. The fireplace is exhausted into the living space, then down into the basement before returning up through the chimney, enhancing the heat exchange to the concrete, which radiates efficiently into the basement and living space.

All of the walls are concrete block. The floors are cast-in-place concrete with radiant hydronic heating.

Sawmill, Tehachapi, California

The structural steel was salvaged from a nearby cement mine that was being demolished within 80 miles of the project. They extracted some of the beams from the facility prior to demolition and created an inventory of steel which influenced the building’s design. The wood for the interior stair treads, sliding doors, and dining table was found on site in an existing barn. And the sliding window wall is operated by a found wheel from an old water pump. In the spirit of simplicity, the interior and exterior detailing is kept to a minimum.

Sawmill, Tehachapi, California

SAWMILL, Tehachapi in California – Building Information

SAWMILL, Tehachapi, California | 2016
Architects: Olson Kundig
Client: Withheld
General Contractor: Withheld

Photographers: Kevin Scott

SAWMILL, Tehachapi, California images / information received 080417

Olson Kundig Architects

Location: Tehachapi, Kern County, Kern County, California, USA

Architecture in San Francisco

San Francisco Houses

San Francisco Architecture

San Francisco Architecture Walking Tours

Stinson Beach Lagoon House, Marin County, California, USA
Design: Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects
Stinson Beach Lagoon House
photograph : Shaun Sullivan Photography

San Francisco Architects

Los Angeles Houses

James Goldstein House in Beverly Hills
James Goldstein House in California
photo © Tom Ferguson Photography

Californian Buildings

Cathedral of Christ the Light
Design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Cathedral of Christ the Light

One Window House, Venice
Design: Touraine Richmond Architects, California
One Window House

Mill Valley House in California
Design: CCS Architecture
Mill Valley Residence
image from architects
Mill Valley House in California

San Francisco Buildings

Californian Architects

American Architecture Designs

American Architectural Designs – recent selection from e-architect:

America Architecture News – latest building updates

US Architecture News

American Houses

American Architect

Los Angeles Architecture News

Oakpass Residence in Beverly Hills

Comments / photos for the SAWMILL, Tehachapi, California building design by Olson Kundig Architects page welcome

Tehachapi, California