3,000 SQFT | 2024
The Koller Home in Madison, Mississippi, was designed as a serene yet practical retreat for a surgeon, a subsistence farmer, and their multi-generational family.
Felicitas, a transplant surgeon with a love for beautifully curated spaces, needed a place to unwind after long hospital shifts. George, a farmer, needed space to handle everything from hundreds of pounds of produce to the occasional pig harvest. Their distinct needs led the design team to divide the home into three zones, each with its own material identity.
Zone one, a single-story black metal bar, is purely functional—housing the garage, mudroom, and farm kitchen. Zone two, clad in shou sugi ban, includes the main kitchen and living room—spaces that bring Felicitas joy. The third zone, a two-story brick bar, contains bedrooms and an upstairs living area.
As the design evolved, the team embraced the idea of a home with a story. Rather than something new and polished, Felicitas and George envisioned a home that felt like it had grown over time. Each bar represents a different chapter: the metal garage bar as the beginning, followed by the shou sugi ban kitchen volume, and finally, the brick bedroom bar. Interior “windows” between the zones, like those overlooking the kitchen, enhance this sense of layering—perfect for moments like Jude reading while his parents cook below.
While the past inspired the home’s narrative, the future guided its systems. The home uses a geothermal heat pump and is ready for solar panels. Outside, native grasses, wildflowers, and a potager garden support both beauty and function.
More than a dwelling, the Koller Home reflects its residents—a place where beauty meets utility, where the past informs the present, and where the spaces are ready to grow with the family for years to come.