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This house was driven by two clear imperatives that dovetailed nicely.
The first was my clients’ desire for an open plan house with a great feeling of connectedness—we could do this in a no-holds-barred manner because kids were not part of the picture.
Secondly, although they had a good deal of land, there was one place that grabbed ahold of me. It was a very tight spot in between ledge outcrops. If the house could keep a very compact footprint, we could fit it into this spot and get up a bit above the trees and look out to the ocean.
The exterior has very clear angular forms that remind me a bit of industrial buildings in New England from 100 years ago.
The interior is very sparse and taut, and is essentially one three story space with a second and third floor hanging in the space almost as balconies.
Coming in the southeast corner, you pass through a small mudroom area and come out under the ceiling of the second floor. On your left is an entire three story open space with a very open stair winding up in it. This tall space allowed us to use a lot of south facing glass so that we could get a great deal of solar gain (and good old sunlight) in the long Maine winters.
The kitchen is under this ceiling, but the living room and dining areas are out in the tall spaces. I didn’t want the inhabitants to feel overwhelmed by the height of the spaces, so we created small bump-outs and alcoves that are under lower ceilings. There one can feel protected by the house even though there is this great space all around you.
On the northwest corner is a small screened porch that is like an island on the deck that wraps around the north end. It serves as a subtle barrier to the more private deck on the west where the hot tub nestles in next to the rocks. Here on this deck one is sheltered from the west by the ledge outcrops. Rising above deck level, this enhances the sense that the house is planted into this rock.
The primary bedroom is on the second floor and is open to the west, where it has its own little second floor deck. This deck is just over the ledge outcrops.
There is also a dressing area and bathroom (which are walled off) on this floor. You can continue on to the top floor, which we thought of as a kind of swing space—maybe an office or a guest room or an alternative living room. My clients liked it so much that guests and office moved out to a studio above the garage and they keep the tower room and its deck as a place to go and hang out with a view.
This house would want a site with an approach opposite the view and some tall elements around it. Because it is narrow and tall, it is specially suitable for the edges of places.
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