Built in the grand style of an English country manor house, this residence is one of the largest homes built in modern times in the US. The floor plan cuts in and out, creating private courtyards, sunken gardens and many visual surprises.
Rhodes sourced most of the stone for the residence from the towns, cities and villages behind the Three Gorges Dam project in central China. Originally, this unique stone was put into the local architecture 500-1800 years ago. Reclaimed, re-cut and shipped to the project, the residence preserves the ancient patina and the chisel marks of the original fabricators. Further, the creative re-use of this timeless material preserves what would have been irrevocably lost with the building of the Dam; the world’s largest hydroelectric project.
In total, more than 286 containers, or 4576 pallets, of antique and handcrafted stone material created the stone veneer and hardscape, over an eight-year construction period. The stone construction “pattern language set” that Rhodes created runs more than 300 pages and details every aspect of the stone design, fabrication and installation.
Much has been written in on both Rhodes’ salvage work at the Three Gorges Dam and the specifics of this project by the international press. In fact, the original Rhodes mock-up wall for the Westerleigh Residence was published in a lengthy article in the New York Times. Find that article and several others on the Rhodesworks Press page (see MSNBC, Globe and Mail, Martha Stewart, Associated Press and Seattle Metropolitan).