When the owners of a house under construction in Truckee, Calif., decided to abandon the mountain-style look of their partially built home, they turned to Los Angeles-based Marmol Radziner's modern aesthetic. The about-face required builder Mark Tanner Construction to swiftly adapt in order to stay on schedule.

Tasked with scrapping the partially completed second floor, Tanner’s team shifted toward a sharper style. Large glass windows were installed under a multi-tiered flat metal roofing to create an open, modern appearance. Bright walls juxtaposed against clean stone work created a sleek but comfortable atmosphere. With the transition of architects, the project metamorphosed from a traditional mountain-style cabin into a striking modern retreat that establishes a connection to he surrounding landscape.

Shortly after the switch in architects, a second "seismic shift" in the project's scope in the project occurred when the owners purchased a triangular-shaped adjacent lot, and set about plans to build a guest house. The one-room outbuilding added just over 1,000 square feet of living space, complete with a kitchen, seating area, and a fold-out wall bed, and outside, a heated pool with retractable cover set into an open concrete patio.

The design emphasized natural earth tones, refined materials and fluid transitions from interior to exterior spaces. The landscaping utilized native flora wherever possible, creating not only environmental sustainability, but also a seamless transition between the project's site and the surrounding landscape.

We talked to builder Mark Tanner about working through the transition on a tight timeline. →