Longbranch House is a project designed by mwworks. Over decades, the once-forested rural slice of land had its center carved out and its length severed by a series of retaining walls straining to hold back the sloping earth. An aging suburban home sat uncomfortably at the promontory. Photography by Andrew Pogue.

.
With an affection for the Key Peninsula developed through 35 years of visits to a small beach cabin nearby, our clients were enthusiastically engaged in the process of creating a home on this slice of land. They envisioned a new home for themselves, a bunch of foster dogs, a few horses, and visiting family and friends. Longbranch is a home designed to be overlooked.
From the country road, a gravel drive wanders towards the house passing an unassuming new barn. In the distance, where the slope drops away, only a glimpse of the house can be seen. Nearing it, the planted roof appears as a continuation of the ground plane. That small patch of meadow grass has already become the habitat for a colony of frogs and a favored perch for a variety of birds. While, like stones firmly settled in a streambed, the house does influence the path of the terrain flowing between and through, the landscape is always the primary force. Towering firs stand as enormous columns at the entry. Pin piles and grade beams carefully cross above tree roots so that the building and forest can share the same ground. A bridge...