Denning House at Stanford University / Ennead Architects

Curated by Paula Pintos

Architects: Ennead Architects
Area: 18000 ft²
Year: 2018
Photographs:Tim Griffith
Manufacturers: Big Ass Fans, Arnold Glass, Axminster, Bloomsburg, Madrid, Ornilux, Sierra Pacific Windows, Viewmax plus
Lead Architect: Richard Olcott FAIA, FAAR
Structural Engineering: Degenkolb Engineers
Electrical Engineering: The Engineering Enterprise
Environmental: A10
Subcontractors: BFP Fire Protection, KDS Plumbing, Pan-Pacific Mechanical, RK Electric, Inc.
General Contractor: Devcon Construction Inc.
Landscape: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol
Lighting: Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design
Civil: Mackay & Somps Civil Engineers Inc
Acoustic: Robert F Mahoney & Associates

Text description provided by the architects. Designed by Richard Olcott of Ennead Architects, Denning House is intended to be a gathering place for the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, a place for students to share ideas and to develop as leaders. The new building offers a variety of meeting, classroom and dining spaces, formal and informal, large and small, both inside and outside, suitable for individual study, small gatherings or large events.

The site, at the edge of Lake Lagunita, is an unusual one: formerly a parking lot, it is surrounded by a densely forested landscape of California oaks. The building’s design takes advantage of this site condition by inverting the program, placing the large public spaces including dining, classroom, and lounges on the second floor, where they take full advantage of the spectacular view. These surmount the administration, conference, and back-of-house facilities on the ground floor.

One approaches the 18,000 square foot building via a gently curving, sloping boardwalk, which gradually leaves the ground and delivers one to a “front porch” and lobby space. From here, the sequence is further attenuated with a gracious stair, which one slowly ascends, gradually revealing the expansive view, until now totally hidden. A gently sloping ceiling rises above the stair, opening the facade towards the lake, creating a continuous flowing space that moves from intimate to grand.

The major spaces here are arrayed along a shallow arcing façade, giving onto a continuous deck along the lake. Through these devices, and the use of Douglas fir wood structure and surfaces throughout the interior and cypress cladding on the exterior, the building feels like a treehouse, far removed from the campus around it, hidden in the trees but looking out at the iconic California landscape beyond.