Classen Residence

The Classen Residence is situated on a narrow site, hugging busy six-lane Classen Boulevard.
The billboard-like west façade engages the loud urban boulevard. Like a sign, its multi-colored panels spell out the family’s name in Morse code, a reference to the family’s military legacy.
A minimal number of windows along Classen limits heat gain and noise transmission into the cozy interiors. A single operable opening, set within the colored panels high along the west façade, offers a grazing shaft of light into the heart of the home, while also facilitating the east garden’s cool air circulating up and out the high west window.
Its corrugated shed typology recalls agrarian structures common along nearby Route 66 and the wide-open Oklahoma landscape. The house grows out of its cast-in-place architectural concrete anchoring, transitioning to architectural metal to better weather the corrosive and heavy exposure along the west.
To the east, the home transitions to a quiet residential neighborhood. Cedar siding defines the front entry and helps frame the morning garden. The interior public spaces engage the east light and view into the garden area. The z-shaped plan configuration ensures morning light in all four bedrooms, as well as natural cross ventilation and a southward downtown skyline view.