Pretty Good in the Woods
Year
2026
Location
Wagoner County, OK
Location
Downtown - Tulsa, OK.
Client
David and Marianne Stambaugh
Construction
ALIGN DSIGN BUILD
//Brief
//Brief
Design a home for multiple users on a working family farm that would be more responsible than a conventional rural house. Guided by Pretty Good House principles, the project called for a durable, energy-conscious home that used materials carefully, minimized disturbance to the land, and allowed the site to play an active role in shaping the architecture.
Design a home for multiple users on a working family farm that would be more responsible than a conventional rural house. Guided by Pretty Good House principles, the project called for a durable, energy-conscious home that used materials carefully, minimized disturbance to the land, and allowed the site to play an active role in shaping the architecture.
//Constraint
//Constraint
Decades of farming had left much of the property as open, plowed fields. The exposed land offered little protection from sun, wind, and weather, while unpredictable soil conditions complicated where the house could reasonably be built. The project therefore began not with the form of the house, but with finding the part of the property where a home could sit with the least disturbance and the greatest advantage from what was already there.
Decades of farming had left much of the property as open, plowed fields. The exposed land offered little protection from sun, wind, and weather, while unpredictable soil conditions complicated where the house could reasonably be built. The project therefore began not with the form of the house, but with finding the part of the property where a home could sit with the least disturbance and the greatest advantage from what was already there.
//Design Move
//Design Move
An existing pond surrounded by a grove of mostly native trees provided that place. The house was positioned along the pond’s eastern edge, using the established landscape as both shelter and setting. The trees help temper exposure to the most extreme sun and winds, while the house opens west toward the water.
That orientation makes the pond and the sky beyond it part of the daily experience of the home. Views extend across the water toward the western horizon, bringing changing light and sunset into the life of the house.
An existing pond surrounded by a grove of mostly native trees provided that place. The house was positioned along the pond’s eastern edge, using the established landscape as both shelter and setting. The trees help temper exposure to the most extreme sun and winds, while the house opens west toward the water.
That orientation makes the pond and the sky beyond it part of the daily experience of the home. Views extend across the water toward the western horizon, bringing changing light and sunset into the life of the house.
//Result
//Result
Rather than occupying the middle of an open field, the house settles into an existing pocket of landscape. The pond, trees, orientation, and architecture work together to provide shelter while maintaining a direct connection to the farm around it.
The result is a home shaped as much by where it sits as by what was built: responsible in its footprint, grounded in the land, and closely connected to the landscape that made its location possible.
Rather than occupying the middle of an open field, the house settles into an existing pocket of landscape. The pond, trees, orientation, and architecture work together to provide shelter while maintaining a direct connection to the farm around it.
The result is a home shaped as much by where it sits as by what was built: responsible in its footprint, grounded in the land, and closely connected to the landscape that made its location possible.
//Other projects
//Other projects
Discover More Projects
Explore additional case studies that highlight our process, creativity, and results.
Our portfolio highlights creative, strategic work that helps brands grow fast, efficiently.
