House on a Point

This house, unlike many others, does not take its precedent from a local building typology. Inspired by the owners’ love of sailing, this project is grounded in another aspect of Maine vernacular: boatbuilding. The site, selected for its boating access, is the bowl of an abandoned gravel pit. The disturbed area to the south has been reclaimed as a wildflower meadow, and the house is embedded in the bank to the north. Its primary orientation invites the southern sun into all principal spaces while the slope of the pit protects the house from cold northerly winter winds.

The house is arranged into five pavilions that separate programmatic functions and break down the overall scale, minimizing its impact from the water. Bent steel columns in the kitchen support the roof and window system, allowing an entire section of wall to effortlessly peel away. Direct and diffuse light permeates the house, filtered by the clerestory louvers.

General Contractor: Stewart Construction
Structural Engineer: Becker Structural
Lighting Design: Peter Knuppel

Photography by Brian Vanden Brink

2008 – Merit Award, AIA New England