Fallen Leaf: The Almost-Invisible Tahoe Mountain Home
Premium windows with long-lasting coatings bring nature’s beauty inside
The setting for the new home was picture perfect: a beautifully wooded property studded with stone outcroppings and an amazing view of the surrounding High Sierra Nevada Mountains. When architect Clare Walton of Walton Architecture, Tahoe City, California, designed the home that would be called Fallen Leaf, she wanted to make sure the homeowners could experience the stunning outdoors from the comfort of the indoors. She created three connected pavilions to gracefully mirror the landscape, including a main wing of common living spaces, a two-story wing of bedrooms and ancillary spaces, and a guest wing. Residents can view both the mountain panorama and other parts of the home through the home’s expansive glazing, which makes up an astonishing 70% of the structure.
“This particular project really pushed the limits of transparency,” said Walton. “We were trying to create an almost invisible structure, and the windows were key to making that happen. While you can’t have an entirely invisible building, the windows we chose came really close.”
The complex design necessitated a technical understanding of design materials, glazing, and coatings. She found that and more with Dynamic Fenestration and their thermally broken metal fenestration, Arte Aluminum.
“Their large, minimal-framed windows allowed us to achieve that sense of transparency we were after,” Walton said. “Low-E glass and low U-values were also critical in meeting energy efficiency requirements without compromising the aesthetics. Dynamic really stood out from the other window manufacturers because they were the only ones who could provide both the energy performance and the aesthetic we needed.”
Dynamic, a longtime manufacturer of architectural fenestration, was up to the challenge. Focused on only using the best components available, Dynamic has long used waterborne coatings based on Kynar Aquatec® PVDF, provided by Superior Finishes. Kynar Aquatec® PVDF is a unique polymer that won’t degrade in the sun or the weather. Its resin technology has been used for over 60 years to protect noteworthy buildings. Specially formulated by Superior Finishes for sleek aesthetics, supreme color hold and durability, it is a great fit for dramatic climates, such as the High Sierra Nevada Mountains.
“We chose Kynar Aquatec® PVDF for our Arte and Fiber series because our clients are building projects that are expected to last,” said Tyler Evans, Vice President, Dynamic Fenestration. “The finish needs to hold up long term, both in performance and appearance, and the Kynar Aquatec® fluoropolymer chemistry consistently delivers the best color and gloss retention available. Just as important, it’s backed by Arkema. Having a supplier with that level of scale and reliability gives us the confidence to make commitments to our clients and stand behind them.”
The Coating Conversation
Evans noted that coating selection is not a late project decision, but an early-stage conversation – one that includes material selection, exposure analysis, architectural intent, and long-term ownership expectations. Within the fenestration industry, coating performance is often measured by AAMA standards. At their core, these standards measure one thing: how a finish changes over time under environmental stress. More specifically, the AAMA standard measures:
- Color retention: how much the finish fades under UV exposure
- Chalk resistance: if the surface begins to break down into a powdery residue
- Gloss retention: how the visual quality shifts over years, not months
- Adhesion: whether the coating remains bonded to the substrate
- Corrosion resistance: how well the system withstands atmospheric conditions
Dynamic defaults to AAMA-2605, the highest-performance durability specification. This performance standard cannot be achieved with common coatings, but it is readily achievable using Kynar Aquatec® resin within Superior Finishes’ premium paint formulation. Dynamic carefully and precisely coats their windows after assembly, ensuring that all edges are coated, protected, and appealing. And while Dynamic’s process calls for coating in the factory, coatings based on Kynar Aquatec® resin can also be applied in the field, making it ideal for long-lasting protection of renovation projects as well as new builds.
Designed and Built to Handle the Pressure
Fallen Leaf sits in an area with a short building season and unique demands including physical factors such as elevation (in the range of 2000 meters, or 6500 feet above sea level), annual temperature range, proximity to the lake, and exposure to high winds. All of these contribute to high demands on the building envelope. Additionally, the State of California has meticulous building codes for this area, especially in regard to the combination of seismic vulnerability and snow load.
“Fallen Leaf is an amazing engineering feat,” said Brian Parker of Loverde Builders, which built the residence. “We’re talking window walls that are 40-50 feet long. It was a huge challenge but because the house was so well engineered—with over 500 pieces of structural steel—we were able to make it work with the windows.”
“We are deeply proud of the design for this home,” said Clare Walton. “It’s always a great feeling when you can stand behind the choices you make for a project. I can honestly say that working with Dynamic exceeded our expectations. The product itself — both in terms of performance and aesthetics — was exactly what we needed for Fallen Leaf. And the whole process, from initial design to installation, was smooth. This was our first time working with them, and now they’re definitely on our list of go-to manufacturers.”