Greensboro, Georgia, USA

Located an hour and a half east of Atlanta, the Gathering House designed by Scott Sickeler of BLUR Workshop is a lounge and multi-use event space for residents and guests of The Homesteads – Reynolds Lake Oconee community.

The surrounding site is heavily forested and uniquely defined by the abundance of large granite boulders scattered throughout the landscape.

The project has been awarded a 2024 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Due to this unique environmental condition, the building’s programmatic components were required to be situated and nestled between existing boulder locations.

The result is a building that is intentionally dispersed while simultaneously framing, and framed by, the context it occupies.

The simplistic open floor plan framed by glass and strategically placed natural stone walls allow the heavy timber members to serve as both a primary structural element and finish material.

Project: Lake Oconee Gathering House 
Architects: BLUR Workshop LLC.
Lead Architect: Scott Sickeler
Client: Oconee Land Development Company LLC.
Photographs: Courtesy of the Architects