WOJR designs six small orchard towers with uncanny formal qualities

among an upstate orchard, massachusetts-based design studio WOJR curates a collection of dwellings that introduce unusual spaces expressed with a familiar design language. the work meanders among an orchard of apple trees along a rolling rural landscape of upstate new york — the environmental qualities informing the design strategy and organization of the dwellings. the project comprises a collection of six guest houses, each of which has an intimately sunken lower volume capped by a narrow tower. while the lower volume houses a cozy living space, the tower above offers an isolated place of retreat. ascending the high perch, an interstitial level accesses a roof deck atop the lower volume.

images courtesy of WOJR

the holistic image of the WOJR-designed project is defined by the six small towers which rise above the picturesque orchard. with its rotation and angle, each tower might appear both impossibly thin or quite wide when viewed from different perspectives along the ground. while the lower level volumes are nestled into the landscape beneath the canopies of apple trees, the roof decks float among the treetops. each tower therefore receives a privileged vantage point, gazing across the orchard and distant, untouched nature. each dwelling is oriented away from its neighbors, offering a sense of privacy despite the communal organization.

together with the six small towers, the team at WOJR integrates a seventh building among its orchard site. this outlyer is imagined in the form of an elongated threshold wall which serves as a pathway to guide guests to their dwellings. this connective path demarcates the boundary between the orchard and adjacent forest, where a clearing swells. with its material palette, the design team seeks a muted, pensive atmosphere. this is achieved through the use of grey hues and common materials — applied both typically and atypically to generate an experience that shifts between familiar and unfamiliar. each dwelling is expressed with oversized shingles along its exterior, resulting in a strangeness of scale.