Boulder House

“At first, I found this piece to be off-putting. It made me uncomfortable. But I think Andy likes things that make you uncomfortable. I told him I was going to put candles inside and he screamed, ‘NO YOU ARE NOT!’ He has very definite ideas on lighting his work. He advised that when I visit, I should let the dog go in first. He cautioned, ‘Because you don’t know what animals may be in there—deer, raccoon, skunks, squirrels.’ Now when I approach, I start yelling and I bring a flashlight… and the dog.  I’ve come to love the off-puttedness of it.”
–Harriet Lewis

At one time, the woodland in which Boulder House is now situated was cleared to make way for pasture. The task of clearance was never completed, leaving what must have looked like a battlefield, with mounds of earth where trees had been uprooted. Over time, self-seeded, black-and-white birch trees recolonized the area. The glacially deposited boulder at the center of the project was found partly buried. Once excavated, the boulder turned out to be larger than anticipated, and as a result the scale of the project grew. The boulder itself was not moved at any point during excavation or construction of the dome.