Olivette House VOTE
TypeNew
LocationAsheville, NC
Year Completed2025
Square Footage3300
Description
Perched on a steep hillside overlooking the French Broad River in Olivette Farms, just north of Asheville, this home is conceived as a quiet retreat shaped by landscape, movement, and memory. The client envisioned an intimate setting for living, cooking, painting, and gathering, informed by her former home in the Sea Ranch community along the Northern California coast.
The linear plan follows the natural topography and is organized into two primary volumes: one containing the main living spaces, the other housing the master suite and utility core. Circulation runs along the south edge of the house, echoing the path taken across the hillside on first arrival. The entry and main stair occur at the hinge between these volumes, creating a bright moment of orientation.
Outdoor living is extended through four decks of varying size and character, supporting meditation, dining, socializing, and painting. The main level is lightly perched on a minimal foundation, with cantilevers on three sides that heighten the sense of floating above the terrain.
A two-car garage is embedded into the hillside and capped with a green roof, forming a shared entry court and minimizing visual impact. A small garden courtyard mediates between garage and house.
The hinged geometry distinguishes the public entry from a private interior oasis beyond, where views open to the hillside and distant mountains, and the form of the house captures the sounds of the river below.
The house incorporates on the main level, stained cypress horizontal shiplap siding on the more private facing facades, while a fiber cement panel rainscreen clads the public street side facades.
Firm Information
Firm NameSiegman Associates, Inc
Project LeaderElihu Siegman, Michael Silverman
AddressAsheville, NC 28806
Phone828-253-1819
Emailmichael@saidesign.net
Websitehttps://www.saidesign.net
Project Team
Structural Engineer, Dan Mady Eng.; Landscape Architect, Heritage Studio; Interior Designer, Siegman Associates,Inc, and Client; General Contractor, Siegman Associates, Inc; Photographer, David Dietrich, and SAI Design
Video URLhttps://youtu.be/I7aNye7LKus