This home, originally built in the 1980s, conformed to the common shingle style aesthetic of many houses in the Hamptons. The owners, successful design professionals, desired a weekend and summer getaway with a more streamlined and contemporary interpretation of the original traditional aesthetic, and ultimately a home with green and sustainable features. The sketches were performed as a contract home for a high-end Hamptons residential specialist design-build firm, Modern Green Home.
The house had the unique feature of being divided into two blocks, originally one for home life and the other for a painting studio. The pivot point between these blocks created a natural place for the creation of a new entry node. A block mass with shed roof at this node was reiterated for two stair towers, one for the husband, wife, and children, and the other for guests.
The next step in the design process was the identification of solar and wind forces on the house. The design responds to sun with outdoor spaces, and the outside is brought in with large nana-wall folding glass panels. The house will receive full sun in the winter, but is shaded from harsh rays in summer by continuous wood pergolas. The angles created by the solar response resonate throughout the design, creating an angular counterpoint to the original straight rectilinear geometry, and opening up spaces for kitchen, dining, and gathering.
