Santa Barbara Independent

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The main structure of Branch House is an exposed post and beam structure adjusted to the geometry of the house and comprised of engineered Laminated Veneer Lumber. Because this area of Southern California is known for its wildfires, local building codes now prohibit the use of non-fire treated wood as an exterior cladding material. To address these code concerns (and the clients’ desire to live among the trees) the house was built with a wood interior structure and a fire-resistive exterior “armor” made of copper tiles, which is separated from the wood frame with a rain screen. The size and configuration of the copper tiling was tightly tailored to accommodate the segmented geometry of the room volumes.