Situated on a hillside overlooking the Brandywine Valley in West Chester, Pennsylvania, this project began with a simple request for a house and a garden. Rather than treating the two as separate elements, we reimagined the site as a collection of structures embedded within a garden and the hillside itself.

The composition is organized around a cottage flanked by two barn-like structures. Together they frame a series of outdoor rooms, stone terraces, pathways, and meadows that weave architecture and landscape into a single experience. Stone retaining walls, native plantings, and thoughtfully shaped landforms anchor the buildings into the hillside, allowing the property to feel as though it has evolved naturally over time.

Clapboard, weathered wood, stone, and metal roofing draw from the agricultural character of the Brandywine countryside, while expansive views connect each structure to the surrounding valley. The result is a contemporary interpretation of a farmstead, one where architecture and landscape are inseparable, and where the experience of moving through the garden is as important as the buildings themselves.

Design Team:

Contractor: Fox Run Construction
Landscape: Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects
Interiors:  MaMo Architects
Photographer: Jeffrey Totaro & Edenic Studio