When unoccupied the Covered Wagon House is a completely solid mass with no apparent fenestration or means of entry, a vernacular barn wrapped entirely in standing seam metal siding.

As the owner arrives for his weekend getaway he first swings open the entire east and west sides of the barn, which are actually giant doors. In a response to Mane Street, Pioneer town directly across the road, these two giant doors open to create a sort of movie set, a backdrop for the sections of the house’s inhabitants.

Filling almost the entire interior volume of the recently opened barn are two covered wagons. These wagons each hold a comfortable bed and a small cabinet containing the linens a visitor will need for the weekend. Once their yokes are attached, each wagon is pulled out along a series of wooden boards embedded in the surrounding earth.

Standing seam panels along the north side of the building flip upwards to create a covered porch and extend the protection from the sun offered by the pitched roof. Furniture stored in the dead space beneath the canopy of the two wagons can then be moved into place, and the transformation is complete.

When occupied the Covered Wagon House is an entirely open air structure. The pitched roof of the barn and porch form one large living space with an attached kitchen and two bathrooms. The wooden boards which serve as a means to help the wagons roll out of the barn also act as a fragmented outdoor patio. This patio connects the main living space to a shower, which is revealed as the barn doors are swung open, as well as a hanging closet attached to the swinging door itself. Together with the sleeping area within the Covered Wagons these elements complete a set of outdoor bedrooms.