This House Looks Like a Rusty Toolbox but We’d Still Live in It

If rust is wrong, we don't wanna be wrong

October 6, 2017 9:00 am

We may be the same folks who regularly see the Brooklyn Nets playing home games in what is essentially a $1 billion bucket of rust , but we are going to hazard a critique at the trend of rusty facades and say it isn’t the most timeless, or tidy, of looks.

The T-shaped Rimrock House in Spokane comes from good stock — it was done by Space Needle-renovators Olson Kundig, and its elevated design serves an ecological purpose: letting the local wildlife move on a path underneath. Even still, there’s something about the massive rusty mass that doesn’t fit seamlessly into the landscape. 

While not actually clad in rust — the lengthy home is outfitted in untreated steel —  the 5,200-square-foot private residence does bear more than a passing resemblance to an old saw blade. 

That said, architect Tom Kundig had his reasons. Due to the area’s harsh weather, he had to use rugged building materials that could withstand the conditions. Also in his favor, the steel paneling and structure of the home was made from 90% reclaimed, locally sourced materials. We’re digging that and what Kundig had to say to Dwell.

“The clients came to me specifically because they saw me as a local boy who did all right,” he said. “They’d watched my career and liked the idea of us both being risk takers.”

So the rust was, at least partially, a risk. We can accept that. We just literally can’t overlook it.

Grab some WD-40 and check out the gallery:

Rusty (8 images)

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