“I like white space.” This statement from the client, articulated at our initial meeting, would provide the framework for the design process. It took a visual concept derived from a two-dimensional graphic design principle and questioned how one could translate this into three-dimensional space. His desire was to provide respite and pause for the people inside, as well as objects, artwork, and furniture. This led to a spatial concept grounded in continuous, voluminous, light-filled spaces with varying levels of transparency based on privacy requirements.
The client was not beholden to the prevailing style of houses in the area, most of which are traditional, vernacular, New England wood-framed structures. He felt strongly that this building should be singular, much like its site.
Site limitations, both topographic and regulatory, would influence the project’s development all while presenting an opportunity to conceive a design that could challenge how landscape is engaged. A tripartite concept of in the ground/on the ground/above the ground emerged as a way to generate a multi-dimensional experience of the natural environment. Those ideas are expressed in a building comprising two distinct bars stacked and rotated relative to one another: one firmly anchored to the earth offering the opportunity to move through and over the site; the other suspended above, teasing the inhabitant with the prospect of endless horizon all while perched in the treetops.
The structural system contributes to the levitation of the upper bar through cantilevered overhangs and angled steel columns. The heavy concrete mass of the lower bar engages the ground plane in a way similar to the protruding ledge present on the site. It, too, is eroded away to frame the sea beyond, making the volume more permeable, weightless, and connected to the site as it approaches the view.
The interiors are balanced with natural light and ethereality. In the kitchen, space is defined by an array of light fixtures hung asymmetrically over a collection of cabinetry boxes. Cantilevered stair treads suspended delicately from the massive concrete wall, in concert with a glass guard, reinforce the structure’s resistance to gravity. Above, the roof peels back, expanding the sense of space, exchanging the sea for a newfound consciousness of the sky. Ever-changing patterns of shadow enhance the intersection of the two rotated geometries as the house becomes a receptacle for light.
Category:Private HomesYear:2021Location:Southport, Maine, USA Architects:Elliott Architects Landscape Architects: Michael Boucher Landscape ArchitectureDesign Team: JT Loomis, Matt Elliott, Buzzy Cyr, Maggie Kirsch, and Elise SchellhaseInterior Design:Urban DwellingsContractor:Warren Construction Group Client: PrivatePhotographer: Paul Warchol with Drone Photography by Ken Woisard
