Entry doors are an opportunity to make a statement, and these doors say something specific about the house. Designed to evoke the solidity and sleek lines of a pre-war luxury car, the doors are made of wenge, the same material used on the home’s other doors and kitchen cabinets. Here they’re infilled with bronze-colored steel panels, echoing the house’s exposed structural steel, light fixtures, and handrails.
The stainless steel lock mechanism adds a bit of machined elegance. Its long, curving bow mimics the arc of the hallway inside, but it functions as a spring that holds the bolt in place. “Everything that makes the door operate is visible as surface decoration,” says architect Tom Ward. “It’s a fingertip operation. The tolerances between all the parts is very precise, akin to the shift lever on a Ferrari.” Our jury admired the way the doors reinvent a common element and make it part of a larger composition.
Entrant/Architect: Ward + Blake Architects, Jackson, Wyo.; Builder: Cox Construction, Jackson; Landscape design: Agrostis, Jackson; Door fabricator: Falls Cabinet and Millwork, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Living space: 14,342 square feet; Site: 35 acres; Construction cost: $800 per square foot; Photographer: David J. Swift.
