Truss House is an 800-square-foot cabin designed for a sage field in Kittitas County, Washington. The house draws inspiration from local barns and at the same time explores the truss as physical structure, visual form, and organizational method. In particular, the project investigates the relationship between internal trusses- in this case a deformation of the queen truss type -and exterior cladding systems.

Truss House takes elements integral to a truss’s engineering, such as the web span and the beam connection, and considers how their geometric appearance might characterize a one-story cabin. The cabin deploys the structure of the roof, as defined by the truss shape, to distinguish three interior spaces. This sets up an outline for trusses to repeat themselves within the structure and mark interior elements such as kitchen appliances and cabinetry. The continuous shape of the truss echoes from the entrance corridor to the window opposite and into the view beyond.

The project also reexamines board and batten cladding by producing variations on the material’s standard spacing. The framework of the cabin integrates two porches that are partially wrapped in this cladding, which is set at varying widths 6, 9, and 12 inches apart.