Ridge House by Worrell Yeung
One hundred miles north of Midtown Manhattan, Ridge House is nestled in a wooded upland area of lower Columbia County, New York. Designed in 2025 by Brooklyn-based architecture studio Worrell Yeung, the 128-foot-long gabled structure resembles a concrete enclave for a young family of four. The home consolidates a main house, an outbuilding, and a pool into a pathless layout, taking full advantage of views to the Catskill Mountains and the Taconic Range.
Geometric Living Within The Landscape
On 88 acres (35 hectares) of wooded upland property in lower Columbia County, New York — one hundred miles north of Midtown Manhattan — Worrell Yeung have designed Ridge House, a restrained yet materially expressive home for a young family of four.
This primary residence consolidates a main house, an outbuilding affectionately called the “barn,” and a pool into a pathless layout surrounded by dense trees. The home takes full advantage of its soothing scenic views to the west of the Catskill Mountains, and to the east of the Taconic Range beckoning into Massachusetts.
“Ridge House emerged from the beauty of a very special site, where a ridgeline clear of the woods has views of not one but two unique mountain ranges,” said Worrell Yeung co-founder, Brian Worrell.
Upon arrival, visitors are indicated to the approach of the main house via a long and circuitous drive. The home’s simple, 128-foot-long (39-metre) gabled structure eradicates the woods to reveal a clearing that looks out onto the mountains. On approach, there is no traditional front door. Rather, board-formed concrete walls, suggesting solidity within an otherwise undisturbed site, define a pass-through space at the centre of the structure.
From here, one can access the social wing of the house on one side or a more secluded bedroom wing tucked back into the forest on the opposite side. The main social space consolidates the kitchen, dining area, and living room into a single lofted room 20 feet (6 metres) high.
A custom concrete kitchen island and concrete fireplace are the two main extrusions that frame the telescopic views to each vantage point, washed in daylight from either side by expansive 30-foot (9-metre) spans of glass.
The residence’s deep connections to the surrounding landscape frame the daylight and give focus to the curated discrete elements of each space. “When I saw this site, with its remarkable views to not one but two mountain ranges, I knew I had something special,” shared the client, a practicing psychologist. “The result speaks for itself.”
Concrete Complements Additional Levels of Material Warmth
The rigid and linear plan continues to exude strong geometric presence and create further restrained furnishings.
Set at each endpoint on either side of the social space is custom lighting designed by Worrell Yeung for Lambert & Fils, which descends over the dining table. In profile, the metal fixtures are twin gables, casting light up to the lull of the lofted ceiling and down to the custom dining table fabricated by Bien Hecho.
To allow for indoor/outdoor enjoyment of the sights, a covered veranda looks out to the Catskills. Interior design was done by Colony, which took an approach of layered warmth offset by the cool tones of indigo grey for the personal and private areas of the home.
The private wing comprises a smaller social space and is enclosed with precision millwork and given scales of scale by soft woods like the white-oak cladding on the entry hallway and the red oak flooring throughout the home.
As guests enter and pass through the home’s dynamic threshold, they flow up a long hallway along the east side of the structure with views to the Taconics and surrounding woods on one side and a long wall of white-oak cladding on the opposite, with doors to the bedrooms subtly indicated by metal hardware.
In these private spaces, Worrell Yeung remains committed to the beauty of simple geometries, adhering to an 8×8 module across the main house and barn. The far wall of each guest bedroom is a large window looking out onto the landscape.
Because of the window’s size, 7-by-9-feet (2.1 by 2.7 m), and its simplicity free of fittings and adornments, it would be nearly impossible to allow it to open.
“To solve this, Worrell Yeung designed one section of the square as a ‘visionless window’ of dark-stained white oak, which acts as a vent and allows fresh air to enter the room,” said the studio.
Room Gaze Over Surrounding Landscape
Six of the eight walls of the primary suite tout large windows southward framing majestic views across the property’s grand views.
In front of one window, a large custom concrete bathtub affords views west while soaking. A freestanding vanity and shower also appear within the main space, with other facilities tucked behind the fourth wall of the primary suite.
Other recent designs by the Brooklyn studio include a bauble-like Vorspan showroom in Manhattan displaying curvilinear wooden valences that cut through the volume in interlocking layers. Another project, dubbed Bum’s Bar, features rough exposed textures to establish a comforting, lived-in aesthetic reflected on its name.
Photography by Rafael Gamo
Visit Worrell Yeung
