Forest Edge House Marc Thorpe Design United States

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Project: Forest Edge House Architect: Marc Thorpe Design Location: United States, Roscoe, New York Year: 2025 Area: 140 m2 Photography: Clay Banks A Quiet Intervention at Forest’s Edge Tucked into the wooded slopes of the western Catskills, the Forest Edge House emerges as a quiet act of environmental and aesthetic clarity. Designed by Marc Thorpe Design and completed in 2025, this compact two-story residence occupies 1,500 ft² and rests on a three-acre forest parcel outside Roscoe, New York. The house is a modest yet deliberate intervention — a retreat that embraces autonomy, sustainability, and a deep resonance with its site.
Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks Harmonizing Form, Setting, and Sustainability The architectural language of Forest Edge House is at once simple and thoughtful. Its rectangular form is clad in FSC-certified natural pine, a material that allows the building to weather and age gracefully with the forest. The home’s design draws from the rural agrarian vernacular of the Catskills — a nod to vernacular roots rather than a bold imposition of urban modernism.
Photography © Clay Banks But the true power of the project lies in its integrated approach to sustainability. Forest Edge House is the fifth solar-powered residence by Edifice Upstate. It’s powered by 24 monocrystalline solar panels connected to a 15 kW inverter and a lithium-ion battery bank — generating roughly 38 kWh per day, enough to sustain the entire home off-grid.
Photography © Clay Banks Inside, radiant floor heating and an open plan combining living, kitchen, and dining areas ensure that the limited 1,500 ft² feels purposeful and efficient. The home has three bedrooms and two full baths, making it a realistic choice not just for a weekend retreat — but potentially for permanent residence.
Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks A Cantilevered Connection to Nature One of the most striking architectural gestures is the 25-foot (roughly 7.6 meter) cantilevered steel deck that projects out into the forest canopy. This elevated platform effectively extends the living space into the trees, offering a place for quiet mornings, forest light, and ambient rustle of leaves — blending indoors and outdoors in a harmonious continuum.
Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks By lifting the house slightly above the ground and embracing a minimal footprint, the design protects existing trees and root systems while maximizing views and privacy. The pine cladding — over time — will weather and blend, softening the visual presence and allowing the house to settle gently among the trees.
Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks Philosophy: Autonomy, Responsibility, Respect At the heart of Forest Edge House lies a philosophical stance: architecture as autonomy — a thoughtful resistance to overconsumption, unnecessary systems, and energy dependence. As described by Marc Thorpe, the house is “an opportunity to take back our autonomy.”
Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks This autonomy isn’t austere or punitive. Instead, it emerges from a position of responsibility and respect — for the land, the environment, and ourselves. The project demonstrates that modern comforts and ecological mindfulness are not mutually exclusive. Through its full off-grid capability, modest scale, and material choice, Forest Edge stands as a model for sustainable, deeply contextual architecture.
Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks Photography © Clay Banks Why Forest Edge Matters Now In a moment when climate change, energy access, and ecological impact are shaping the future of housing, Forest Edge House points to a possible path forward. It rejects the idea that bigger always means better, or that modern living demands disconnection from nature. Instead, it suggests a lifestyle where design is modest, systems are efficient, and the footprint — physical and environmental — is minimal.
Photography © Clay Banks As part of the growing portfolio of Edifice Upstate, this project also signals a rising interest in responsible off-grid living. It’s a house designed not to shout, but to listen: to seasons, to woods, to quiet sunlight filtering through pine needles. In that quiet, there is power.
Drawing © Marc Thorpe Design Drawing © Marc Thorpe Design Drawing © Marc Thorpe Design Drawing © Marc Thorpe Design Drawing © Marc Thorpe Design

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