This live work/dwelling for an ecologist in residence at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been designed as a vertical extension of the site. It is essentially a cave at the lower level, an open landing in the middle, and a treehouse above. The vertical connections allow for a manipulation of the interior environment to maintain comfortable conditions with very little added energy. Rooted in bedrock, the building rises from a stone base which provides constant temperatures for cooling in summer and heating in winter. Four concrete cylinders rise through the building providing structural support, housing private functions and utilities, providing chase spaces for the transfer of air, and acting as trombe walls to store and release solar heat gain. The middle level, an open meeting area, is surrounded by glazing in a jalosy window arrangement, allowing the maximum connection visually to the site as well as an endless ability to adjust the airflow and cross-ventilation.

The upper level, with its own separate enclosure, has the ability to collect rising hot air and recirculate it or reject it to the outside. The roof level is a green roof, and contains about a foot of soil with native plantings. Overflow rainfall is collected and used as greywater. The vertical arrangement allows for a minimal footprint, and the planted roof means there is no net change in the permeablitliy of the site. A final element, a sloping ramp to the middle level, also planted, acts as a bridge both to the meeting level and the hill top beyond, while providing additional living space beneath.

As technology progresses, it allows us to become more primitive. This building does not use sophisticated equipment. It uses basic building technologies that have worked for thousands of years in a sophisticated way.