Creating new roots

In 2003, Kyu Sung Woo bought 250 acres of virgin forest near Putney, a rural town of 2,600 in Vermont. Last summer, the completion of three modernist metal and wood houses -- two connected by a mudroom -- allowed the promise to be fulfilled. The structures cost about $300 a square foot.

The compound was designed to accommodate three generations of Kyu Sung Woo's family. It is set up so that more buildings can be added as the family grows. The houses contain elements of New England barns -- like steeply pitched roofs -- and those of traditional Korean family compounds.

"We started a bit late, but I think we're enjoying the land now," says Kyu Sung Woo, who splits his time between Seoul and Boston.

The framing of landscape views is partially inspired by Asian cultures, as are the large sliding doors that lead outside onto the wooden decks, similar to sliding screen doors that lead to outdoor courtyards found in traditional Korean homes.

The structures are just 15 feet at the widest point, as seen in the mudroom pictured here. They are modernist, with corrugated metal siding on the north-facing facades and stained cedar elsewhere. The compound, which is off the grid, draws water from on-site wells and is powered by solar panels and a generator.

The homes are sparsely decorated with Swedish antiques and midcentury-modern pieces.

Every room contains enormous windows and glass sliding doors.

"So much of Korean life and culture is about shared spaces, taking off your shoes and having meals together," says Wonbo Woo, Kyu Sung Woo's 33-year-old son. "It's the core of what the family does in Putney."

Kyu Sung Woo's commissioned homes often focus around central living rooms, but this compound is very different. This is a very outward-looking house -- they want to be in nature," says architect Ozzie Nagler, Woo's longtime friend and mentor. "But it works so well internally, too."

For his grandsons, Kyu Sung Woo created balconies above the hallway that are accessible from the top of their bunk bed and are partially enclosed by Plexiglas. The children can spy (and drop small objects) on passers-by in the hallway.