North Country School (Copy)
Lake Placid, NY
This child-friendly home includes a crown of windows looking to the Adirondack high peaks, an interior bridge on arching tree trunks, a slide paralleling the staircase between first and second floors, a giant seat-shaped boulder forming the hearth, and peeled tree trunks supporting second floor framing. Eleven junior boarding school students (grades 4 – 9) and two sets of house parents live here during the school year. Obeying the school’s progressive philosophy, the design grew from the site--from local stones and lumber (beech, birch, pine) from the school’s Forest Stewardship Council-certified forest. Facing due south for solar gain, the house features a super-insulated skin, photovoltaic panels, energy saving heating, lighting and ventilating systems and water conserving appliances.
