On a brisk and sunny February afternoon, the cedar-clad house designed by the Brooklyn-based nARCHITECTS was barely visible from the road. Tucked into the trees at the northwestern corner of a grassy, wheat-hued clearing in New York’s rural Dutchess County, its wood-slat rainscreen facade was, on that day, a near perfect color match with the wintry landscape. Its slender lines, barnlike massing, and deeply pitched gable roof, too, create such a discreet profile it can be easy to miss from certain angles. Yet those who make their way up the inconspicuous approach that snakes to the front door will discover a surprisingly transparent country house, playfully punctuated by broad windows that open to expansive vistas.

Spaced battens on the porch (2 & 3) and generous fenestration (1) lend a porous quality to the building. Photos © Michael Moran, click to enlarge.