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Virginia Tech

Cliff House

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This thesis began with the goal of designing a bold house cantilevered over the edge of a cliff 120 feet above the water, and evolved into the study of how to design when starting with the primary form of a cube. The cube was chosen as representing the crystalline form of the rock upon which the house sits. The outside shell of the house is horizontal, board formed concrete, also in reference to the layered rock of the cliff face. There are two primary forces cutting away the mass of the cube to produce the final form of the house. The first force is of the site, and is generated by two spectacular views. These two views are used to cut through the house, forming an â Xâ shaped atrium eight feet wide and four storeys high, in the center of the house. The second force is generated by the desire to bring daylight into two opposite corners of the house. The southern corner of the house faces the lake. The bottom of that corner is cut out more than the top to admit direct sun in the winter, indirect sun in the summer, and reflected sun off the lake year round. The northern corner of the house faces the woods. The top of that corner is cut out more than the bottom to allow northern light into the top floors and maintain privacy on the lower floor, where the driveway approaches the house.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2006

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Treser, Steven Thomas
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Galloway, William U.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Jones, James R.
  • Cortes, Mario C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-05262006-160618
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33272

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Treser, Steven Thomas. Cliff House. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33272