A House for All Ages

摘要

As an architect, I'm often handed a list of clients' needs and desires and charged with incorporating them into their new home. What clients often can't supply is a clear, accurate vision for their future needs. In this regard, retirement-age clients present a unique set of design challenges. They often plan to live in their new home for the rest of their lives, but they are unsure how their needs and their lifestyles will change over the time they'll be in the house. When Mike and Jo Ray approached Sam-sel Architects-the firm I work for-to design their retirement home, they had bought a piece of pastureland adjacent to Ivy Creek Valley in the mountains of western North Carolina. Through a carefully arranged layout, smart material choices, and an energy-efficient construction approach, we created a home that accommodates their lives now and that will do so into the future.