When the 2017 Nuns Fire consumed a couple’s house on the east side of the Sonoma Highway in California wine country, the devastation caused them deep personal sadness, of course, but it also magnified their love of place. Instead of merely reconstructing the circa-1980 cottage in more fire-resistant form, the couple tapped local architect Amy Alper to create a house that would be a full-time residence boasting compelling visual connections to the six-acre site.

The blaze had spared the pool behind the house, as well as three acres of Cabernet Sau­vignon vineyards wrapping its south elevation. Because the design brief included a freestanding guesthouse that would be located to the north, Alper conceived the new house as a pinwheel in which pool, farmland, and a new north-facing patio would be slotted into the plan. The architect also treated a large kitchen for entertaining as the pinwheel’s rotor. Using a pair of islands and minimal overhead storage, she guaranteed views across its interior out to the landscape for which the clients are continually grateful.