MONTEAGLE, TENNESSEE
This project is a retirement house located in Monteagle, Tennessee, a nineteenth century community in the Appalachian foothills near Chattanooga. The owner desired a four bedroom house with space to accommodate frequent house guests yet efficient enough to allow easy maintenance and upkeep.
A “V-shaped” overlook terrace, which recalls the shape of the porch gables, offers a dramatic view from the ridge. Facing the bluff is an open porch supported by columns. The central space of the house, which is adjacent to the porch and also enjoys the view is a large vaulted room. With its beamed ceiling and stone fireplace, it provides living, dining and library spaces. It also organizes all the other rooms: kitchen, breakfast room and garage to the west, entrance gallery, porch and guest bedroom also has access to the views as well as an east orientation for morning sun.
The architectural vocabulary is simple responding to the rural locale and the Victorian influence in many of the buildings in the area. Materials include stone for foundations, floors and fireplace; cedar board and batten siding, wood double hung windows, hardwood floors and wood v-groove ceilings. The imagery is rural, the organization is clear and the materials are appropriate.