This thesis is an investigation of the separation of the public and private parts of a house, using stairs, walls and dropped ceilings to separate different spaces. The use of stairs to separate space creates rooms of different volumes. A further investigation of the transition between outdoors and indoors lead to the study of form through sketching.

The site is located in a residential area in McLean, Virginia. It is a relatively flat site as there are no major slopes. The three acre lot is generous in size and was not meant to drive the design of the house by providing limits. Trees on three sides of the site provide a natural barrier between the adjacent lots, providing some privacy. The site is zoned such that it could have two driveways, one being used mostly by guests and the other by the occupants.