Gold Mine House

Schuyler, VA

Completed 2023

Gold Mine House is a homestead designed for a family of four returning to their Appalachian roots, set on the site of a former gold and mineral mine in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The home bridges local vernacular and modern living through a site-sensitive reinterpretation of the “I-house” farmhouses and Sears kit houses scattered across the surrounding region.

The elongated T-shaped plan divides communal and private spaces into two distinct volumes. A dark stucco-clad service wing runs north–south, housing children’s bedrooms, utility areas, and a media room, while visually shielding the home and partially-enclosed courtyards from a neighboring road. In contrast, the main east–west pavilion, wrapped in cedar and glass, opens fully to the surrounding forest to maximize natural light, cross-ventilation, and panoramic mountain views.

The home is strategically oriented for passive solar performance, and features deep overhangs that block summer sun and welcome winter warmth. Its placement on the heavily forested site (once clear-cut during past mining operations) required minimal intervention, with the dense native forest left largely undisturbed to provide softly filtered light, privacy, and habitat continuity.

The home is designed for remote work and rural self-sufficiency, and supports year-round gardening, beekeeping, and woodworking. The cantilevered service wing shelters a partially excavated basement that echoes the previously mined terrain, creating a flexible workshop space. At the heart of the home, a steel-clad chimney anchors both volumes and integrates a Rumford fireplace, wood storage, concealed entertainment features, and service chases.

The interior palette of local soapstone countertops, reclaimed oak, and basalt flooring creates a grounded, textural counterpoint to the precise detailing of glass and steel, reflecting the clients’ desire for a lasting connection to place and stewardship of the land.

General Contractor: Alexander Nicholson

Structural Engineer: Engineered Solutions

Civil Engineer: Draper Aden Associates

Glazing: Marvin Windows / Gaston and Wyatt

Structural Steel: Quality Welding

Specialty Steel: Steve Prudhomme

Electrical: Cory Johnston

HVAC: Duct Rite Mechanical

Roofing: McCarty Roofing

Countertops: Alberene Soapstone / Cogswell

Cabinetry: Ideal Cabinets