Project Description
This residence is located at the edge of a river estuary which is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore – a 43,000 acre park preserve. Ecological sensitivity was vital for this project to maintain the critical saltwater marsh and turtle sanctuary and conserve resources in perpetuity through LEED Gold equivalency and Energy Star certification. The only site access is a 300’ foot path.
Due to stringent zoning and environmental regulations this building was conceived as a compact cube on the coastal bank. The “cube” was then embraced on the north and east sides by a massive stone wall which orders the site into public and private precincts, and the house responds respectively with introverted and extroverted expressions.
The exterior and interior palettes are juxtapositions of immutable, hard materials (stone and glass) and mutable, soft materials (wood). Part of the interplay is how the building works spatially with the stone wall; where space penetrates this mass, and where it does not. The natural wood ceilings on the first floor define activity precincts within each room and reinforce the inside/outside connection, or dialogue.