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138 Main Street
Apple Bank Building
Second Floor
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
(use for courier delivery)
P.O Box 510
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
(use for USPS delivery)
T 631.725.0229
F 631.725.0230
Profile
Bates Masi + Architects LLC, a full-service architectural firm with roots in New York City and the East End of Long Island for over 45 years, responds to each project with extensive research in related architectural fields, material, craft and environment for unique solutions as varied as the individuals or groups for whom they are designed. The focus is neither the size nor the type of project but the opportunity to enrich lives and enhance the environment. The attention to all elements of design has been a constant in the firm’s philosophy. Projects include urban and suburban residences, schools, offices, hotels, restaurants, retail and furniture in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. The firm has received 43 design awards since 2003 and has been featured in national and international publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Metropolitan Home, and Dwell. Residential Architect Magazine selected Bates Masi one of their 50 Architect’s We Love. A gallery exhibition in May 2010 featured the firm’s earlier work from 1960-70.
Paul Masi spent childhood summers in Montauk and currently resides in Amagansett. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Catholic University and a Masters of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He worked at Richard Meier & Partners before joining this firm in 1998.
Harry Bates, a resident of East Hampton, received a Bachelor of Architecture from North Carolina State University. After ten years with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he was in private practice in New York City for 17 years before moving the firm to Southampton on the East End in 1980. Our offices are currently located in Sag Harbor with plans to relocate to a new LEED Certified office building of our own design in East Hampton.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Noyack Creek
Lot size: 0.31 acres
Building size: 1,350 sq. ft.
Location: Noyack, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
The client, a New York actor, sought a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining on a restrictive narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek. The house became a study in architectural theatre: a series of spaces in a carefully scripted sequence that subtly reflect his professional life.
The path begins at the front door where perforated privacy screens slide apart like a curtain, revealing the loft-like living and dining spaces. The direction of the deck boards that make up the flooring is altered to demarcate the path through the space, emerging seamlessly to an exterior waterside deck. A broad stair to the second level, parallel with an interior stair along a glazed wall, acts as tiered seating for entertaining and looking at the water view beyond. Beneath the stair, hidden backstage for maximum privacy, the guest room shares the water view through a nearly hidden sliding door. Guests emerge as if through a trap door.
Continuing up the stair to the second floor, the final destination is the master suite and balcony. The master bedroom is connected to the bath by a bridge overlooking the public spaces below which are lit by the glazed stair wall. Lined with a guardrail of stainless steel cables recalling a fly loft and catwalk, the path culminates in the master bedroom with its wall of glazing overlooking the water.
Windows throughout the house are carefully placed to provide the maximum daylight and water views while maintaining privacy from the nearby neighbors and street. The siding system is manipulated for varying degrees of privacy as well. Comprised of Skatelite, a natural resin panel typically used in skateboard ramps, the siding is water-jet cut with tight joints in areas demanding privacy and loosely spaced in other areas to admit light and air. The texture and color of the siding, in keeping with the budget of the house, reference a black box theatre.
In the end, a house that could have been limited by its small site and budget was elevated by its conception as a stage for memorable experiences.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Re-cover
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,500 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, New York
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Christopher Wesnofske
Contractor: Paul Cassidy
Thirty-five years after the firm originally designed this vacation residence, its new owners sought to rejuvenate the house while preserving its spaces, seasoned tones, and texture. Clad inside and out almost entirely in twelve-inch wide cypress boards, the original house exuded a straightforward simplicity the owners wished to maintain. By constraining the palette of materials and reusing salvaged parts of the existing house, the line between new and old becomes nearly imperceptible, limited only to minimal inflections in finish.
In the enlarged and updated baths, and in the modernized kitchen and dining terrace, a dense glacial sedimentary sandstone is used for its fine workability into a variety of finishes. In this way the stone varies subtly – only in texture – as it is reapplied from one surface to another: horizontal walking surfaces are rendered with a smooth honed finish, vertical wall surfaces with a rough flamed finish, and countertops in a glossy polished finish. This tactile language is traced consistently from room to room.
Little of the material seen in the addition is in fact new. As the south wall and deck of the house were dismantled to make room for the new construction, the cypress boards and cedar decking were carefully
salvaged and machined into new siding, fine scrim material, stair treads and risers. Reused, this cladding bears precisely the same patina as the other surfaces in the house – an effect truly impossible to achieve with new construction materials. Only on close inspection is new texture and color revealed at the boards’ freshly cut edges.
In enhancing the simplicity of the original design, a subtle complexity has emerged. Splices, cuts, and finishing techniques inflect upon otherwise homogenous materials, recording the methods of craft and workmanship. Over the next thirty-five years the patina that naturally accrues over time will continue refine the delicacy of these inflections.
Tree House
Lot size: 0.15 acres
Building size: 1,440 sq. ft.
Location: Fire Island, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Courtesy of the owner
Contractor: William A. Lynch
This 2-level house, referred to by its' Owner as his "tree house", is situated in a dense grove of pines and hollies with a view of the bay from the second level.
The approach by a raised wooden walkway arrives at a walled deck and glass entrance. Two guest bedrooms, bath and guest deck are on the first floor with a steel stair leading to the living, dining, kitchen and Master Suite on the second floor.
All exterior and interior wall surfaces and cabinets are rough cut cypress; the flooring is bleached oak. The ceilings are exposed fir structural members and doors and windows are aluminum. The 1" X 12" cypress vertical louvers on the high windows reduce the intensity of the southern sun. The east and west walls of the house are virtually blank because of the close proximity of the neighbors and a public walkway.
Tree House
Lot size: 0.15 acres
Building size: 1,440 sq. ft.
Location: Fire Island, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Courtesy of the owner
Contractor: William A. Lynch
This 2-level house, referred to by its' Owner as his "tree house", is situated in a dense grove of pines and hollies with a view of the bay from the second level.
The approach by a raised wooden walkway arrives at a walled deck and glass entrance. Two guest bedrooms, bath and guest deck are on the first floor with a steel stair leading to the living, dining, kitchen and Master Suite on the second floor.
All exterior and interior wall surfaces and cabinets are rough cut cypress; the flooring is bleached oak. The ceilings are exposed fir structural members and doors and windows are aluminum. The 1" X 12" cypress vertical louvers on the high windows reduce the intensity of the southern sun. The east and west walls of the house are virtually blank because of the close proximity of the neighbors and a public walkway.
Tree House
Lot size: 0.15 acres
Building size: 1,440 sq. ft.
Location: Fire Island, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Courtesy of the owner
Contractor: William A. Lynch
This 2-level house, referred to by its' Owner as his "tree house", is situated in a dense grove of pines and hollies with a view of the bay from the second level.
The approach by a raised wooden walkway arrives at a walled deck and glass entrance. Two guest bedrooms, bath and guest deck are on the first floor with a steel stair leading to the living, dining, kitchen and Master Suite on the second floor.
All exterior and interior wall surfaces and cabinets are rough cut cypress; the flooring is bleached oak. The ceilings are exposed fir structural members and doors and windows are aluminum. The 1" X 12" cypress vertical louvers on the high windows reduce the intensity of the southern sun. The east and west walls of the house are virtually blank because of the close proximity of the neighbors and a public walkway.
Tree House
Lot size: 0.15 acres
Building size: 1,440 sq. ft.
Location: Fire Island, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Courtesy of the owner
Contractor: William A. Lynch
This 2-level house, referred to by its' Owner as his "tree house", is situated in a dense grove of pines and hollies with a view of the bay from the second level.
The approach by a raised wooden walkway arrives at a walled deck and glass entrance. Two guest bedrooms, bath and guest deck are on the first floor with a steel stair leading to the living, dining, kitchen and Master Suite on the second floor.
All exterior and interior wall surfaces and cabinets are rough cut cypress; the flooring is bleached oak. The ceilings are exposed fir structural members and doors and windows are aluminum. The 1" X 12" cypress vertical louvers on the high windows reduce the intensity of the southern sun. The east and west walls of the house are virtually blank because of the close proximity of the neighbors and a public walkway.
Tree House
Lot size: 0.15 acres
Building size: 1,440 sq. ft.
Location: Fire Island, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Courtesy of the owner
Contractor: William A. Lynch
This 2-level house, referred to by its' Owner as his "tree house", is situated in a dense grove of pines and hollies with a view of the bay from the second level.
The approach by a raised wooden walkway arrives at a walled deck and glass entrance. Two guest bedrooms, bath and guest deck are on the first floor with a steel stair leading to the living, dining, kitchen and Master Suite on the second floor.
All exterior and interior wall surfaces and cabinets are rough cut cypress; the flooring is bleached oak. The ceilings are exposed fir structural members and doors and windows are aluminum. The 1" X 12" cypress vertical louvers on the high windows reduce the intensity of the southern sun. The east and west walls of the house are virtually blank because of the close proximity of the neighbors and a public walkway.
Tree House
Lot size: 0.15 acres
Building size: 1,440 sq. ft.
Location: Fire Island, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Courtesy of the owner
Contractor: William A. Lynch
This 2-level house, referred to by its' Owner as his "tree house", is situated in a dense grove of pines and hollies with a view of the bay from the second level.
The approach by a raised wooden walkway arrives at a walled deck and glass entrance. Two guest bedrooms, bath and guest deck are on the first floor with a steel stair leading to the living, dining, kitchen and Master Suite on the second floor.
All exterior and interior wall surfaces and cabinets are rough cut cypress; the flooring is bleached oak. The ceilings are exposed fir structural members and doors and windows are aluminum. The 1" X 12" cypress vertical louvers on the high windows reduce the intensity of the southern sun. The east and west walls of the house are virtually blank because of the close proximity of the neighbors and a public walkway.
Upcher
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,400 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
Contractor: Seacoast Construction
The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a writer was a study in adaptability and re-use. The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house done by this firm. The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.
The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the Internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rack system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns. From these appendages cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves and the walkway around the perimeter of the library.
Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn okoume wood, aluminum windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house.
Nothing in the house is excessive. Only what is needed is what has been provided for. The house’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a multiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.
Upcher
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,400 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
Contractor: Seacoast Construction
The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a writer was a study in adaptability and re-use. The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house done by this firm. The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.
The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the Internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rack system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns. From these appendages cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves and the walkway around the perimeter of the library.
Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn okoume wood, aluminum windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house.
Nothing in the house is excessive. Only what is needed is what has been provided for. The house’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a multiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.
Upcher
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,400 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
Contractor: Seacoast Construction
The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a writer was a study in adaptability and re-use. The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house done by this firm. The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.
The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the Internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rack system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns. From these appendages cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves and the walkway around the perimeter of the library.
Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn okoume wood, aluminum windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house.
Nothing in the house is excessive. Only what is needed is what has been provided for. The house’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a multiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.
Upcher
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,400 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
Contractor: Seacoast Construction
The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a writer was a study in adaptability and re-use. The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house done by this firm. The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.
The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the Internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rack system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns. From these appendages cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves and the walkway around the perimeter of the library.
Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn okoume wood, aluminum windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house.
Nothing in the house is excessive. Only what is needed is what has been provided for. The house’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a multiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.
Upcher
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,400 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
Contractor: Seacoast Construction
The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a writer was a study in adaptability and re-use. The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house done by this firm. The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.
The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the Internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rack system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns. From these appendages cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves and the walkway around the perimeter of the library.
Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn okoume wood, aluminum windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house.
Nothing in the house is excessive. Only what is needed is what has been provided for. The house’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a multiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.
Upcher
Lot size: 0.5 acres
Building size: 1,400 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Photographer: Bates Masi Architects
Contractor: Seacoast Construction
The design of this 1200 sq. ft. residence for a writer was a study in adaptability and re-use. The client was looking to simplify her life and downsize from an earlier house done by this firm. The new house would be built just west of her existing house on the adjacent property. She voiced the desire for her new house to be functional, light, informal, simple and maintain a view of a large moss covered rock on the site.
The house was designed to be both spatially and economically efficient by coordinating the assembly of pre-manufactured components researched over the Internet. It is essentially one large room with ancillary spaces that feed off it. The structure is an adjustable cantilevering rack system used in lumberyards. It is comprised of standard steel sizes with an assortment of brackets and arms that can be specified for any type of load or application. Bolted connections secure the steel arms and brackets to the steel columns. From these appendages cabinetry is hung, a fireplace mantel is suspended and handrails are applied. They also support the mahogany bookshelves and the walkway around the perimeter of the library.
Prefabricated concrete foundation walls, formaldehyde free water-resistant fiber board, rough sawn okoume wood, aluminum windows, dyed concrete wall panels, pre-assembled wood screens, cabinets from IKEA and gabion retaining walls are the other elements that come together to form the house.
Nothing in the house is excessive. Only what is needed is what has been provided for. The house’s ability to be adapted and retrofitted, expanded or reduced allows for a multiplicity of uses and to do so without waste is implicit in the design.
Cherry Point
Lot size: 0.25 acres
Building size: 1,685 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
A waterfront site coexistant with a tidal marsh yielded only a twenty-five hundred square foot buildable footprint for this windsurfer’s family beach house. The environmentally sensitive lot needed a unique water treatment system that was integrated into the architecture. This system had to be placed above ground level, creating an artificial plateau.
Raised on wooden pilings seven feet above the area’s floodplain, the house’s elevated entry deck lies flush with an artificial plateau determined by the requisite fifteen thousand cubic foot above ground waste water system. The main floor is further raised through an inversion of the traditional domestic organization – daytime living quarters on top, sleeping quarters below. Although this configuration affords panoramic views of the bay from the glazed living room and its adjacent sundeck, it also effectuates a physical discontinuity between interior and exterior. Since the land was purchased for its natural beauty as well as its proximity to the open water, and since legalistic constraints forbid the building’s extension into its landscape, the landscape would have to reach into the house – conceptually and visually.
With no horizontal surface to spare, the connection is performed within a thin scrim lining the structure’s vertical façades. The gaze cast across the property’s neighboring marshlands, one may witness the effects of the wind on the
plane of sea grasses: a rippling effect visibly renders forces and movement typically perceived only through touch as breezes pass over the skin. How could a similar effect take place as a responsive element integral with the architecture? A material is fabricated of loose screening with fishing lures fastened into each opening. This screen partially clads three façades; the lures shimmer as blades of glass, acting as a sort-of barometer that registers changes in wind speed and direction as they occur in real-time. Thus, in addition to engaging the design with its landscape, these walls also act as an essential instrument for the avid windsurfer. As the lures jingle back and forth on their hinges they alternately admit and deny direct southern sunlight into the living room interior, generating flashes of light and patterned shadows across the floor that alert the occupants to optimal surfing conditions.
An attention to materiality that began with the wind-responsive wall continues throughout the house’s exterior development. By layering the wind wall, concrete composite panels, a fenestration system, and a handrail system beyond and behind a basic volume clad in flush wood siding, the sides of an otherwise uninspired box are revealed on edge, lending an elegant thinness to the overall composition.
Through the simple manipulation of materials, in both their detailing and general application, a compact, highly efficient plan is seamlessly reconciled with its undersized lot and tied to the greater environment.
Cherry Point
Lot size: 0.25 acres
Building size: 1,685 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
A waterfront site coexistant with a tidal marsh yielded only a twenty-five hundred square foot buildable footprint for this windsurfer’s family beach house. The environmentally sensitive lot needed a unique water treatment system that was integrated into the architecture. This system had to be placed above ground level, creating an artificial plateau.
Raised on wooden pilings seven feet above the area’s floodplain, the house’s elevated entry deck lies flush with an artificial plateau determined by the requisite fifteen thousand cubic foot above ground waste water system. The main floor is further raised through an inversion of the traditional domestic organization – daytime living quarters on top, sleeping quarters below. Although this configuration affords panoramic views of the bay from the glazed living room and its adjacent sundeck, it also effectuates a physical discontinuity between interior and exterior. Since the land was purchased for its natural beauty as well as its proximity to the open water, and since legalistic constraints forbid the building’s extension into its landscape, the landscape would have to reach into the house – conceptually and visually.
With no horizontal surface to spare, the connection is performed within a thin scrim lining the structure’s vertical façades. The gaze cast across the property’s neighboring marshlands, one may witness the effects of the wind on the
plane of sea grasses: a rippling effect visibly renders forces and movement typically perceived only through touch as breezes pass over the skin. How could a similar effect take place as a responsive element integral with the architecture? A material is fabricated of loose screening with fishing lures fastened into each opening. This screen partially clads three façades; the lures shimmer as blades of glass, acting as a sort-of barometer that registers changes in wind speed and direction as they occur in real-time. Thus, in addition to engaging the design with its landscape, these walls also act as an essential instrument for the avid windsurfer. As the lures jingle back and forth on their hinges they alternately admit and deny direct southern sunlight into the living room interior, generating flashes of light and patterned shadows across the floor that alert the occupants to optimal surfing conditions.
An attention to materiality that began with the wind-responsive wall continues throughout the house’s exterior development. By layering the wind wall, concrete composite panels, a fenestration system, and a handrail system beyond and behind a basic volume clad in flush wood siding, the sides of an otherwise uninspired box are revealed on edge, lending an elegant thinness to the overall composition.
Through the simple manipulation of materials, in both their detailing and general application, a compact, highly efficient plan is seamlessly reconciled with its undersized lot and tied to the greater environment.
Cherry Point
Lot size: 0.25 acres
Building size: 1,685 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
A waterfront site coexistant with a tidal marsh yielded only a twenty-five hundred square foot buildable footprint for this windsurfer’s family beach house. The environmentally sensitive lot needed a unique water treatment system that was integrated into the architecture. This system had to be placed above ground level, creating an artificial plateau.
Raised on wooden pilings seven feet above the area’s floodplain, the house’s elevated entry deck lies flush with an artificial plateau determined by the requisite fifteen thousand cubic foot above ground waste water system. The main floor is further raised through an inversion of the traditional domestic organization – daytime living quarters on top, sleeping quarters below. Although this configuration affords panoramic views of the bay from the glazed living room and its adjacent sundeck, it also effectuates a physical discontinuity between interior and exterior. Since the land was purchased for its natural beauty as well as its proximity to the open water, and since legalistic constraints forbid the building’s extension into its landscape, the landscape would have to reach into the house – conceptually and visually.
With no horizontal surface to spare, the connection is performed within a thin scrim lining the structure’s vertical façades. The gaze cast across the property’s neighboring marshlands, one may witness the effects of the wind on the
plane of sea grasses: a rippling effect visibly renders forces and movement typically perceived only through touch as breezes pass over the skin. How could a similar effect take place as a responsive element integral with the architecture? A material is fabricated of loose screening with fishing lures fastened into each opening. This screen partially clads three façades; the lures shimmer as blades of glass, acting as a sort-of barometer that registers changes in wind speed and direction as they occur in real-time. Thus, in addition to engaging the design with its landscape, these walls also act as an essential instrument for the avid windsurfer. As the lures jingle back and forth on their hinges they alternately admit and deny direct southern sunlight into the living room interior, generating flashes of light and patterned shadows across the floor that alert the occupants to optimal surfing conditions.
An attention to materiality that began with the wind-responsive wall continues throughout the house’s exterior development. By layering the wind wall, concrete composite panels, a fenestration system, and a handrail system beyond and behind a basic volume clad in flush wood siding, the sides of an otherwise uninspired box are revealed on edge, lending an elegant thinness to the overall composition.
Through the simple manipulation of materials, in both their detailing and general application, a compact, highly efficient plan is seamlessly reconciled with its undersized lot and tied to the greater environment.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Silver Hollow
Lot size: 159 acres
Building size: 2,100 sq. ft.
Location: Chichester, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
The problems of accessing an isolated 160 acres in New York’s Catskill Park necessitated materials and building techniques that ultimately set the design platform for a young Manhattan couple’s weekend retreat. The required access road traverses a stream on a new timber bridge protected from seasonal flooding by locally quarried riprap embankments. Beyond, the road cuts into a thickly forested hemlock-covered north-facing mountainside, opening a narrow corridor to distant views and ushering light into the woods’ shadows.
Set on a plateau of dense woodland above Silver Hollow and cradled by mountains to the east, south and west, the building site’s want for daylight and vistas is reconciled by reiterating the road-building process. An aperture opens to sunset views in the west and ambient sky light above by cutting a narrow swath through the trees just wide enough for the foundations’ excavation and far enough down slope to clear the tree canopy. The house interfaces this aperture through expansive glass sliding doors at each end, and by siphoning sky light from the roof deck to the ground level. In conventional structures “solar tubes” carry sky light through rooftop acrylic diffusers and reflect it through specular aluminum ducts to the lower stories. In Silver Hollow, the entire house becomes a “solar tube”.
By employing a system of deep timber beams spaced six feet apart, the floor framing no longer depends directly on the exterior walls for support. The solid floor and ceiling may be held-back at the edges to open an uninterrupted cavity from the first floor through the roof. This cavity is lined with white reflective metal road sign blanks and made translucent to the sky and interior spaces through a diffusive plane of clear corrugated polycarbonate. Light reflects off the roof deck’s metal planking, through the polycarbonate plane into the light cavity, off the road sign blanks, and into the house’s interior spaces.
Traditionally development in Catskill Park has taken place adjacent to waterways and existing transportation corridors. Since this project sits inside a relatively undisturbed tract, special environmental care is taken. Moss-coated boulders strewn across the hillside are piled like riprap against the graded slopes to either side of the parking area to protect against erosion; hemlocks cleared for the road and building site are recycled into siding at a local mill; and the light cavities double for natural convective cooling in the summertime: cool air draws below, warms by solar radiation, rises to the top, and exhausts through manually-regulated louvers. Along with the “solar tube” daylighting, these systems unite harmoniously with the natural setting to satisfy the owners’ aspirations for “simplicity, functionality, warmth, and soul”.
Silver Hollow
Lot size: 159 acres
Building size: 2,100 sq. ft.
Location: Chichester, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
The problems of accessing an isolated 160 acres in New York’s Catskill Park necessitated materials and building techniques that ultimately set the design platform for a young Manhattan couple’s weekend retreat. The required access road traverses a stream on a new timber bridge protected from seasonal flooding by locally quarried riprap embankments. Beyond, the road cuts into a thickly forested hemlock-covered north-facing mountainside, opening a narrow corridor to distant views and ushering light into the woods’ shadows.
Set on a plateau of dense woodland above Silver Hollow and cradled by mountains to the east, south and west, the building site’s want for daylight and vistas is reconciled by reiterating the road-building process. An aperture opens to sunset views in the west and ambient sky light above by cutting a narrow swath through the trees just wide enough for the foundations’ excavation and far enough down slope to clear the tree canopy. The house interfaces this aperture through expansive glass sliding doors at each end, and by siphoning sky light from the roof deck to the ground level. In conventional structures “solar tubes” carry sky light through rooftop acrylic diffusers and reflect it through specular aluminum ducts to the lower stories. In Silver Hollow, the entire house becomes a “solar tube”.
By employing a system of deep timber beams spaced six feet apart, the floor framing no longer depends directly on the exterior walls for support. The solid floor and ceiling may be held-back at the edges to open an uninterrupted cavity from the first floor through the roof. This cavity is lined with white reflective metal road sign blanks and made translucent to the sky and interior spaces through a diffusive plane of clear corrugated polycarbonate. Light reflects off the roof deck’s metal planking, through the polycarbonate plane into the light cavity, off the road sign blanks, and into the house’s interior spaces.
Traditionally development in Catskill Park has taken place adjacent to waterways and existing transportation corridors. Since this project sits inside a relatively undisturbed tract, special environmental care is taken. Moss-coated boulders strewn across the hillside are piled like riprap against the graded slopes to either side of the parking area to protect against erosion; hemlocks cleared for the road and building site are recycled into siding at a local mill; and the light cavities double for natural convective cooling in the summertime: cool air draws below, warms by solar radiation, rises to the top, and exhausts through manually-regulated louvers. Along with the “solar tube” daylighting, these systems unite harmoniously with the natural setting to satisfy the owners’ aspirations for “simplicity, functionality, warmth, and soul”.
Silver Hollow
Lot size: 159 acres
Building size: 2,100 sq. ft.
Location: Chichester, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
The problems of accessing an isolated 160 acres in New York’s Catskill Park necessitated materials and building techniques that ultimately set the design platform for a young Manhattan couple’s weekend retreat. The required access road traverses a stream on a new timber bridge protected from seasonal flooding by locally quarried riprap embankments. Beyond, the road cuts into a thickly forested hemlock-covered north-facing mountainside, opening a narrow corridor to distant views and ushering light into the woods’ shadows.
Set on a plateau of dense woodland above Silver Hollow and cradled by mountains to the east, south and west, the building site’s want for daylight and vistas is reconciled by reiterating the road-building process. An aperture opens to sunset views in the west and ambient sky light above by cutting a narrow swath through the trees just wide enough for the foundations’ excavation and far enough down slope to clear the tree canopy. The house interfaces this aperture through expansive glass sliding doors at each end, and by siphoning sky light from the roof deck to the ground level. In conventional structures “solar tubes” carry sky light through rooftop acrylic diffusers and reflect it through specular aluminum ducts to the lower stories. In Silver Hollow, the entire house becomes a “solar tube”.
By employing a system of deep timber beams spaced six feet apart, the floor framing no longer depends directly on the exterior walls for support. The solid floor and ceiling may be held-back at the edges to open an uninterrupted cavity from the first floor through the roof. This cavity is lined with white reflective metal road sign blanks and made translucent to the sky and interior spaces through a diffusive plane of clear corrugated polycarbonate. Light reflects off the roof deck’s metal planking, through the polycarbonate plane into the light cavity, off the road sign blanks, and into the house’s interior spaces.
Traditionally development in Catskill Park has taken place adjacent to waterways and existing transportation corridors. Since this project sits inside a relatively undisturbed tract, special environmental care is taken. Moss-coated boulders strewn across the hillside are piled like riprap against the graded slopes to either side of the parking area to protect against erosion; hemlocks cleared for the road and building site are recycled into siding at a local mill; and the light cavities double for natural convective cooling in the summertime: cool air draws below, warms by solar radiation, rises to the top, and exhausts through manually-regulated louvers. Along with the “solar tube” daylighting, these systems unite harmoniously with the natural setting to satisfy the owners’ aspirations for “simplicity, functionality, warmth, and soul”.
Silver Hollow
Lot size: 159 acres
Building size: 2,100 sq. ft.
Location: Chichester, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
The problems of accessing an isolated 160 acres in New York’s Catskill Park necessitated materials and building techniques that ultimately set the design platform for a young Manhattan couple’s weekend retreat. The required access road traverses a stream on a new timber bridge protected from seasonal flooding by locally quarried riprap embankments. Beyond, the road cuts into a thickly forested hemlock-covered north-facing mountainside, opening a narrow corridor to distant views and ushering light into the woods’ shadows.
Set on a plateau of dense woodland above Silver Hollow and cradled by mountains to the east, south and west, the building site’s want for daylight and vistas is reconciled by reiterating the road-building process. An aperture opens to sunset views in the west and ambient sky light above by cutting a narrow swath through the trees just wide enough for the foundations’ excavation and far enough down slope to clear the tree canopy. The house interfaces this aperture through expansive glass sliding doors at each end, and by siphoning sky light from the roof deck to the ground level. In conventional structures “solar tubes” carry sky light through rooftop acrylic diffusers and reflect it through specular aluminum ducts to the lower stories. In Silver Hollow, the entire house becomes a “solar tube”.
By employing a system of deep timber beams spaced six feet apart, the floor framing no longer depends directly on the exterior walls for support. The solid floor and ceiling may be held-back at the edges to open an uninterrupted cavity from the first floor through the roof. This cavity is lined with white reflective metal road sign blanks and made translucent to the sky and interior spaces through a diffusive plane of clear corrugated polycarbonate. Light reflects off the roof deck’s metal planking, through the polycarbonate plane into the light cavity, off the road sign blanks, and into the house’s interior spaces.
Traditionally development in Catskill Park has taken place adjacent to waterways and existing transportation corridors. Since this project sits inside a relatively undisturbed tract, special environmental care is taken. Moss-coated boulders strewn across the hillside are piled like riprap against the graded slopes to either side of the parking area to protect against erosion; hemlocks cleared for the road and building site are recycled into siding at a local mill; and the light cavities double for natural convective cooling in the summertime: cool air draws below, warms by solar radiation, rises to the top, and exhausts through manually-regulated louvers. Along with the “solar tube” daylighting, these systems unite harmoniously with the natural setting to satisfy the owners’ aspirations for “simplicity, functionality, warmth, and soul”.
Silver Hollow
Lot size: 159 acres
Building size: 2,100 sq. ft.
Location: Chichester, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
The problems of accessing an isolated 160 acres in New York’s Catskill Park necessitated materials and building techniques that ultimately set the design platform for a young Manhattan couple’s weekend retreat. The required access road traverses a stream on a new timber bridge protected from seasonal flooding by locally quarried riprap embankments. Beyond, the road cuts into a thickly forested hemlock-covered north-facing mountainside, opening a narrow corridor to distant views and ushering light into the woods’ shadows.
Set on a plateau of dense woodland above Silver Hollow and cradled by mountains to the east, south and west, the building site’s want for daylight and vistas is reconciled by reiterating the road-building process. An aperture opens to sunset views in the west and ambient sky light above by cutting a narrow swath through the trees just wide enough for the foundations’ excavation and far enough down slope to clear the tree canopy. The house interfaces this aperture through expansive glass sliding doors at each end, and by siphoning sky light from the roof deck to the ground level. In conventional structures “solar tubes” carry sky light through rooftop acrylic diffusers and reflect it through specular aluminum ducts to the lower stories. In Silver Hollow, the entire house becomes a “solar tube”.
By employing a system of deep timber beams spaced six feet apart, the floor framing no longer depends directly on the exterior walls for support. The solid floor and ceiling may be held-back at the edges to open an uninterrupted cavity from the first floor through the roof. This cavity is lined with white reflective metal road sign blanks and made translucent to the sky and interior spaces through a diffusive plane of clear corrugated polycarbonate. Light reflects off the roof deck’s metal planking, through the polycarbonate plane into the light cavity, off the road sign blanks, and into the house’s interior spaces.
Traditionally development in Catskill Park has taken place adjacent to waterways and existing transportation corridors. Since this project sits inside a relatively undisturbed tract, special environmental care is taken. Moss-coated boulders strewn across the hillside are piled like riprap against the graded slopes to either side of the parking area to protect against erosion; hemlocks cleared for the road and building site are recycled into siding at a local mill; and the light cavities double for natural convective cooling in the summertime: cool air draws below, warms by solar radiation, rises to the top, and exhausts through manually-regulated louvers. Along with the “solar tube” daylighting, these systems unite harmoniously with the natural setting to satisfy the owners’ aspirations for “simplicity, functionality, warmth, and soul”.
Lindal Architects Collaborative
Building size: Customizable sq. ft.
Location: Worldwide
Program: Single Family Residence
Contractor: Lindal Cedar Homes
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Lindal Architects Collaborative
Building size: Customizable sq. ft.
Location: Worldwide
Program: Single Family Residence
Contractor: Lindal Cedar Homes
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Lindal Architects Collaborative
Building size: Customizable sq. ft.
Location: Worldwide
Program: Single Family Residence
Contractor: Lindal Cedar Homes
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Lindal Architects Collaborative
Building size: Customizable sq. ft.
Location: Worldwide
Program: Single Family Residence
Contractor: Lindal Cedar Homes
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Lindal Architects Collaborative
Building size: Customizable sq. ft.
Location: Worldwide
Program: Single Family Residence
Contractor: Lindal Cedar Homes
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Lindal Architects Collaborative
Building size: Customizable sq. ft.
Location: Worldwide
Program: Single Family Residence
Contractor: Lindal Cedar Homes
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Cherry Point
Lot size: 0.25 acres
Building size: 1,685 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
A waterfront site coexistant with a tidal marsh yielded only a twenty-five hundred square foot buildable footprint for this windsurfer’s family beach house. The environmentally sensitive lot needed a unique water treatment system that was integrated into the architecture. This system had to be placed above ground level, creating an artificial plateau.
Raised on wooden pilings seven feet above the area’s floodplain, the house’s elevated entry deck lies flush with an artificial plateau determined by the requisite fifteen thousand cubic foot above ground waste water system. The main floor is further raised through an inversion of the traditional domestic organization – daytime living quarters on top, sleeping quarters below. Although this configuration affords panoramic views of the bay from the glazed living room and its adjacent sundeck, it also effectuates a physical discontinuity between interior and exterior. Since the land was purchased for its natural beauty as well as its proximity to the open water, and since legalistic constraints forbid the building’s extension into its landscape, the landscape would have to reach into the house – conceptually and visually.
With no horizontal surface to spare, the connection is performed within a thin scrim lining the structure’s vertical façades. The gaze cast across the property’s neighboring marshlands, one may witness the effects of the wind on the
plane of sea grasses: a rippling effect visibly renders forces and movement typically perceived only through touch as breezes pass over the skin. How could a similar effect take place as a responsive element integral with the architecture? A material is fabricated of loose screening with fishing lures fastened into each opening. This screen partially clads three façades; the lures shimmer as blades of glass, acting as a sort-of barometer that registers changes in wind speed and direction as they occur in real-time. Thus, in addition to engaging the design with its landscape, these walls also act as an essential instrument for the avid windsurfer. As the lures jingle back and forth on their hinges they alternately admit and deny direct southern sunlight into the living room interior, generating flashes of light and patterned shadows across the floor that alert the occupants to optimal surfing conditions.
An attention to materiality that began with the wind-responsive wall continues throughout the house’s exterior development. By layering the wind wall, concrete composite panels, a fenestration system, and a handrail system beyond and behind a basic volume clad in flush wood siding, the sides of an otherwise uninspired box are revealed on edge, lending an elegant thinness to the overall composition.
Through the simple manipulation of materials, in both their detailing and general application, a compact, highly efficient plan is seamlessly reconciled with its undersized lot and tied to the greater environment.
Cherry Point
Lot size: 0.25 acres
Building size: 1,685 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
A waterfront site coexistant with a tidal marsh yielded only a twenty-five hundred square foot buildable footprint for this windsurfer’s family beach house. The environmentally sensitive lot needed a unique water treatment system that was integrated into the architecture. This system had to be placed above ground level, creating an artificial plateau.
Raised on wooden pilings seven feet above the area’s floodplain, the house’s elevated entry deck lies flush with an artificial plateau determined by the requisite fifteen thousand cubic foot above ground waste water system. The main floor is further raised through an inversion of the traditional domestic organization – daytime living quarters on top, sleeping quarters below. Although this configuration affords panoramic views of the bay from the glazed living room and its adjacent sundeck, it also effectuates a physical discontinuity between interior and exterior. Since the land was purchased for its natural beauty as well as its proximity to the open water, and since legalistic constraints forbid the building’s extension into its landscape, the landscape would have to reach into the house – conceptually and visually.
With no horizontal surface to spare, the connection is performed within a thin scrim lining the structure’s vertical façades. The gaze cast across the property’s neighboring marshlands, one may witness the effects of the wind on the
plane of sea grasses: a rippling effect visibly renders forces and movement typically perceived only through touch as breezes pass over the skin. How could a similar effect take place as a responsive element integral with the architecture? A material is fabricated of loose screening with fishing lures fastened into each opening. This screen partially clads three façades; the lures shimmer as blades of glass, acting as a sort-of barometer that registers changes in wind speed and direction as they occur in real-time. Thus, in addition to engaging the design with its landscape, these walls also act as an essential instrument for the avid windsurfer. As the lures jingle back and forth on their hinges they alternately admit and deny direct southern sunlight into the living room interior, generating flashes of light and patterned shadows across the floor that alert the occupants to optimal surfing conditions.
An attention to materiality that began with the wind-responsive wall continues throughout the house’s exterior development. By layering the wind wall, concrete composite panels, a fenestration system, and a handrail system beyond and behind a basic volume clad in flush wood siding, the sides of an otherwise uninspired box are revealed on edge, lending an elegant thinness to the overall composition.
Through the simple manipulation of materials, in both their detailing and general application, a compact, highly efficient plan is seamlessly reconciled with its undersized lot and tied to the greater environment.
Cherry Point
Lot size: 0.25 acres
Building size: 1,685 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
A waterfront site coexistant with a tidal marsh yielded only a twenty-five hundred square foot buildable footprint for this windsurfer’s family beach house. The environmentally sensitive lot needed a unique water treatment system that was integrated into the architecture. This system had to be placed above ground level, creating an artificial plateau.
Raised on wooden pilings seven feet above the area’s floodplain, the house’s elevated entry deck lies flush with an artificial plateau determined by the requisite fifteen thousand cubic foot above ground waste water system. The main floor is further raised through an inversion of the traditional domestic organization – daytime living quarters on top, sleeping quarters below. Although this configuration affords panoramic views of the bay from the glazed living room and its adjacent sundeck, it also effectuates a physical discontinuity between interior and exterior. Since the land was purchased for its natural beauty as well as its proximity to the open water, and since legalistic constraints forbid the building’s extension into its landscape, the landscape would have to reach into the house – conceptually and visually.
With no horizontal surface to spare, the connection is performed within a thin scrim lining the structure’s vertical façades. The gaze cast across the property’s neighboring marshlands, one may witness the effects of the wind on the
plane of sea grasses: a rippling effect visibly renders forces and movement typically perceived only through touch as breezes pass over the skin. How could a similar effect take place as a responsive element integral with the architecture? A material is fabricated of loose screening with fishing lures fastened into each opening. This screen partially clads three façades; the lures shimmer as blades of glass, acting as a sort-of barometer that registers changes in wind speed and direction as they occur in real-time. Thus, in addition to engaging the design with its landscape, these walls also act as an essential instrument for the avid windsurfer. As the lures jingle back and forth on their hinges they alternately admit and deny direct southern sunlight into the living room interior, generating flashes of light and patterned shadows across the floor that alert the occupants to optimal surfing conditions.
An attention to materiality that began with the wind-responsive wall continues throughout the house’s exterior development. By layering the wind wall, concrete composite panels, a fenestration system, and a handrail system beyond and behind a basic volume clad in flush wood siding, the sides of an otherwise uninspired box are revealed on edge, lending an elegant thinness to the overall composition.
Through the simple manipulation of materials, in both their detailing and general application, a compact, highly efficient plan is seamlessly reconciled with its undersized lot and tied to the greater environment.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Northwest Landing
Lot size: 0.51 acres
Building size: 1,895 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Straddling freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary at just six feet above sea level, this house’s site demands extraordinary sensitivity to environmental concerns. Local zoning restricts the structure’s maximum coverage and encroachment on the wetlands areas, while FEMA requirements set the first floor structure above the base flood elevation. The house’s basic massing is therefore predetermined, limited to a one story, 1,900 square foot design in 4:7 proportion, raised eight feet above the ground. The spaces within this envelope are arranged, articulated, and fenestrated with an innovative structural system that infuses the house’s inner areas with light and circulating air.
Whereas most waterfront construction uses pilings to establish an artificial ground plane upon which a conventional house is built, in this project these structural members are integral: 16 wide, exposed, glue-laminated piles stake out the enclosing walls for each of the three bedrooms and extend continuously from the ground through the roof. The residual spaces between these piles house “utility” functions: closet, desk, laundry, pantry, and shower compartment. In addition to these conventional utilities, three vertical voids are opened between the piles to serve the spaces around them. Without occupying any of the limited allowed coverage these open areas add considerable value by improving the
house’s interior environmental quality and diminishing its impact on the local environment. The benefit is threefold: each opening draws light though the interior spaces to the carport below, conducts rainwater from the roof deck to a rainwater management system, and ventilates by siphoning air through the middle of the structure.
At the roof the projecting piles serve to divide the space between a deck directly coinciding with the living areas below and a modular planting system installed directly above each bedroom. This planting system further minimizes the structure’s footprint and environmental impact. At the ground level directly underneath the main living spaces, there is room for storing the cars, boats, and yard equipment usually found under houses raised on pilings.
By allowing these voids to permeate through the house, the owners have multiple visual connections to the landscape from below, within and above the house, encouraging a sense of place.
Twenty Seven
Lot size: 1 acres
Building size: 2,200 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Twenty Seven
Lot size: 1 acres
Building size: 2,200 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Twenty Seven
Lot size: 1 acres
Building size: 2,200 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Twenty Seven
Lot size: 1 acres
Building size: 2,200 sq. ft.
Location: East Hampton, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Beach Hampton
Lot size: .275 acres
Building size: 600 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Beach Hampton
Lot size: .275 acres
Building size: 600 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Beach Hampton
Lot size: .275 acres
Building size: 600 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Beach Hampton
Lot size: .275 acres
Building size: 600 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Beach Hampton
Lot size: .275 acres
Building size: 600 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming
Beach Hampton
Lot size: .275 acres
Building size: 600 sq. ft.
Location: Amagansett, NY
Program: Single Family Residence
Project Narrative Forthcoming