This house replaces an existing house that had deteriorated due to harsh seaside conditions. Strict EPA zoning requirements meant that the house could not exceed the footprint of the previous house and had to be built on stilts, 3’ above grade with the peak of the roof being no higher than 35’ above average grade. The new roofline allowed for the addition of an additional floor while celebrating the southern exposure of the house.
This is the second house I designed for this client. At 70 years old, after 23 happy years in her first house at the end of a dirt road in rural Vermont, Barbara decided that she wanted a new house that would be closer to a town and be all on one level. Now retired from her career in Boston, this was to be a year round house. The house was designed around a tall central south-facing winter garden space with openings to both the living room and the master bedroom. The high ceilings and diagonal interior views make the relatively small plan footprint feel much bigger than it is and help to combat any feelings of winter cabin fever. The passive solar gain through the south-facing windows complete with lightshelves, allows for the house to be heated by a central wood stove on all but the very coldest of winter spells when the concrete embedded radiant floor heating system kicks in.
Daylighting was the primary design consideration in this house for a retired couple in a suburban development outside of Ottawa. Living spaces are on the main floor with guest quarters for children/grandchildren upstairs. The extension of the spatial grid to the exterior spaces reinforces the connections between inside and outside. The south-facing patio space with outdoor fireplace and grill creates a micro-climate that extends the possibility for outdoor activity in the early spring and late fall.
The proximity of the St Lawrence seaway directly in front of the site inspired the form and projecting deck space of this summer/weekend house for a family from Toronto. Sensitively anchored to the granite outcroppings, no blasting was undertaken.
This guest house is called “the Remise” because it could only get a permit if it was called a storage space. It is a single room heated by a wood stove with a compost toilet cubicle, built-in bunk beds that double as couches. The shed roof enables the collection of rainwater for dishwashing. The exact building location, spanning between two granite outcroppings, was selected to minimize any negative impact on the wild blueberry plants on either side.
Situated on a heavily wooded lot traversed by an 8’ wide x 4’ high stone wall, the intention of the design was to create dynamic views through and within the house. The house straddles the stone wall to take advantage of the canopied views that extend the linear library into the woods to the east and west. Organized around two wood-burning stoves, one in the living room and one in the kitchen, the house can be heated almost exclusively by wood during the winter months.
This tiny post and beam structure is a combination screened porch/guest room for overflow visitors to the first Dickey House. Heated by a wood stove, it has a skylit sleeping loft for an additional double mattress in the attic space.
This multi-generational family house rises from the ashes of an early 20th century summer house that burned to the ground in 1990. The family took over a decade to recover from the tragedy and emotionally regroup to rebuild. The original furniture, which had been removed from the house to be repainted over the winter, populates the living room of the new house around a fireplace that closely resembles the original fireplace. The rest of the house has been designed to suit the new family configurations and lifestyles.
This house in Pointe-au-Pic QC was designed to celebrate the view up the St. Lawrence River towards the east.
This is a guest house for one of the original buildings in Biddeford Pool: the stage coach stop between Boston and Portland. Zoning required that the house be built on the exact footprint of the previous garage structure. The stair to the upper levels encircles the metal flue of the wood stove that heats the house in winter, terminating in a crow’s nest with amazing views in all directions.
This house replaces a long narrow 1960’s house on a spectacular site 50’ back from the shore of Indian Lake ON. The bylaws permitted the renovation of the existing house with any new construction being 100’ back from the shore. In the end, only two walls of the original house were kept, but that was enough to ensure that the original deck and the house’s relationship the the water edge could be maintained. The client had a particular fondness for an Arts and Craft aesthetic.
