Practicing ArchitectureAwards

2010 AIA Housing Award Recipient

Category 1: One and Two-Family Custom Residences

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Notes of Interest

Situated along the Connecticut shoreline of Long Island Sound, this single-family house is conceived of as an extension of both its natural and social contexts. Building on the site is regulated not only by the implied aesthetic expectations of a neighborhood association, but also by town zoning regulations on height and yard setbacks, as well as FEMA regulations requiring structures to be raised above base flood zones.

The crux of the project lies in the juxtaposition of two systems of geometry—projective and radial—defining the project’s response to these environmental and social conditions in both formal and conceptual ways. Projective geometries render the site as pure landscape; that is, as an expanse of scenery that can be viewed from a single point. The radial geometry at work in the house, tied to notions of water, waves, and sea, creates the spiraling form that relates social spaces to private spaces and seamlessly adjoins interior with exterior. The vortex of the spiral lies in the center of the house, where the front “porch” terminates into a gray-water cistern. In this way, the house subtly utilizes its formal effects in a performative way, to make a form derived from its zoning constraints and an aesthetic interpretation of its surroundings into a viably sustainable project.

On the exterior, vertical “battens” of Western Red Cedar re-interpret the traditional vernacular of New England “Shingle Style” board and batten techniques. These battens are offset from the building’s substrate tongue-and-groove siding with stainless steel fasteners, creating a lattice-like effect.