NEW BOOK: FOUNDATIONS

“In these pages you will learn much about authenticity – reclaimed timber and stone matching the terrain,” writer, filmmaker and conservationist John Heminway writes in the Foreword to JLF Architects debut monograph, Foundations: Houses by JLF Architects. “Take my word, this commitment to materials is not some affectation but a perspective gained from four decades of studying the land, working to Olympian standards, and listening, always listening.”

Salvaged and indigenous materials join contemporary form, respecting history and place (photo: Audrey Hall).

Highlighting 16 JLF Architects-designed houses in the glorious wilds of Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho and New York, each with a compelling design-build story tied to its spectacular setting, JLF’s new book, released by Rizzoli in May, demonstrates the firm’s approach through some 200 photos by standout Montana fine art photographer and long-time chronicler of JLF projects Audrey Hall. So it’s no surprise that Western Art & Architecture just tagged the new book one of the magazine’s “Things We Love”: “Whether working with reclaimed antique timber or indigenous stone, the renowned firm of JLF Architects brings decades of experience to bear on rustic modern design solutions in some of the country’s most breathtaking locales, many of which are captured in this monograph,” the magazine writes about Foundations in the just-out June/July issue.

JLF’s The Creamery in BigLife (photo: Audrey Hall); Park City kitchen has profound connection with nature (photo: Lucy Call).

“Houses that are built lovingly with noble materials and heritage methods, always presented in profound conversation with nature,” writes Rizzoli about JLF’s work. The book also received accolades from BigLife magazine, who featured the “Modern Artifact” Park City house from the book in the article “Building Dreams” in its recent Spring 2022 issue. BigLife writes, “JLF has become renowned for the way that their projects are at home in their environs,” adding that the Park City house “perfectly marries the authenticity of place with a modern sensibility” and that Foundations “offers insight into the intentionality that goes into each JLF project.”

Park City “Modern Artifact” (photo: Lucy Call)

And in its review of Foundations for its popular annual HOME issue, Big Sky Journal applauds JLF Architects as the “esteemed firm [that] brings decades of experience to bear on rustic and modern design solutions.” The magazine goes on to write of JLF Architects “working to build in partnership with the land through environmentally responsible, artful design,” sharing a JLF quote from the book to summarize the philosophy of this firm that has become known for creating “brand-new 100-year-old houses”: “The most sustainable thing we can do is design a house that will still be here in a hundred years, a place where people can gather for generations to come.”

Bridge-over-calm-waters dining room, open to nature, has become a JLF signature (photo: Lucy Call).

At 272 pages, written by Seabring Davis with JLF Design-Build and with photography by Audrey Hall, Foundations was published in May 2022 by Rizzoli New York. With a cover price of $55 U.S., Foundations: Houses by JLF Architects can be purchased from your local bookseller or ordered online from a variety of sources including Rizzoli, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.