This 3,900-square-foot farmhouse is located on a large parcel of land in northwestern Connecticut. Situated below a wooded hillside of hiking trails and seasonal watercourses, the house overlooks rolling fields, making an ideal homestead built around four-season gardens, composting beds, barns and an apple orchard.

In keeping with their sustainable lifestyle and desire for a net-zero program, the house includes SIP’s wall systems, reclaimed fixtures and materials, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, rainwater collection and a freshwater swimming pool.

Following our goal to adhere to the pared-down design of a simple farmhouse, we studied early 20th century vernacular buildings, particularly the buildings of the Hancock Shaker Community. An early collaboration of Heide and Rafe, this project determined how their firms would eventually merge to be stronger as a whole.