One of the main challenges in this project is to create a home for accommodating the wish of the owners for a maintenance-free house with longevity. This led the architect to design a house with building shapes and materials which are hardy without delicate detailing and re-finishing overtime needed. House in the Lanes is designed by MB Architecture and it is located in the ‘lanes’ in Amagansett, New York, United States of America.
Design
It is a project located in the ‘lanes’ in Amagansett. These ‘lanes’ are a set of walkable streets perpendicular to the main street and also dotted with a diverse range of houses and styles near an ocean. This house has hardy building shapes and materials without delicate detailing and re-finishing overtime needed. From the charred cypress to raw concrete walls and the zinc roof, all exterior materials of the house are chosen for their ability to patina and weather.
Structure
Doors and windows of the house are pushed tight-up to the clapboards’ to keep the tight weather seal. The architect also opts to let the side facade be the street-front. It is in a departure from some additions to the area where houses extend from side to side on a given parcel and often chocking it. This way also can let the house longer side face south and also the direct sun, maintaining a suitable distance to the neighbors too at the same time.
With a green buffer, the front yard of the house is softened. The meadow will grow over time and it creates privacy for the homeowners and a natural green zone along the street. The raw, unfinished, concrete wall sitting in this meadow becomes the first impression of the house and its profile echoing the familiar shape of a barn. The garage is hidden and the house front facade is scaled down. The concrete also gives way to a slightly charred cypress.
Rooms
The ground level offers a bedroom for guests and this level is also dedicated to living spaces. There is a raw steel box in the living room, inserted into a concrete wall to provide accessible storage for the client’s collection of vintage and rare vinyl records. The connection with the outdoors is to manage to address the wish of the clients for a strong sense of interiority and filtering of natural light.
The parents’ bedroom is located on the second floor and separated from the bedrooms of the children with a second-floor porch and roof ‘cut-out’. Through a south-facing sliding glass door, this porch can be entered easily. Together with the north-facing ribbon window, it allows natural light to come and filter into the house. The natural light also can reflect down into the heart of the house via narrow slits and openings along the staircase with a concrete-stair wall.
On the south side of the house, there is a sunken courtyard. And on the north, there is a generous light-well. Both of them can allow light to be filtered into a lower level and also break the site flatness, transforming the house basement into a well-lit family room with a comfortable private outdoor space.
House in the Lanes Gallery
Photographer: Matthew Carbone