ferguson shamamian & rattner architects, new york city
Our judges praised the Copeland Hill Cottages development for its pedestrian-friendly neighborhood design and for architecture that "doesn't over-style itself." Nestled in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia, the cottages are part of the Greenbrier expansion plan, which sought to build 35 four-bedroom cottages within walking distance of the resort's main structure. Ferguson Shamamian & Rattner Architects executed the plan.
Rather than impose a rigid grid on the small parcel, the architects clustered the homes within the site's varying topography, augmenting the plan with meandering roads and footpaths, says project architect Donald M. Rattner.
"We were operating within a historical framework, so it was important for the architecture to be consistent," says Rattner, who has since left FS&R and launched his own New York City-based firm, Studio for Civil Architecture. As a result, the cottages echo the hotel's classical Georgian architecture, but vernacular details such as clapboard siding and wood porches are also evident.
This is a "fresh take on a vernacular house," said the judges. "It looks like a nice place to walk around."
project architect: Donald M. Rattner, Ferguson Shamamian & Rattner Architects
land planner: Christophe Drumain, Design Works, Charleston, S.C.
developer: Dolan Pollack & Schram, Richmond Hill, Ga.
general contractor: Richard Swift, Sterling Construction Management, White Sulphur Springs
landscape architect: Christophe Drumain, Design Works
interior designer: Linda Carr, Knight Carr & Co., Greensboro, N.C.
project size: 3,000 square feet per unit
site size: 15 acres
construction cost: Withheld
sales price: Withheld
photographer: Mick Hales
