RECENT

Our most recent project is the complete reinterpretation of an C18th house, perched on the Atlantic cliffs north of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Being a listed building, a conservation restriction to the original footprint meant the desired basement would have been impossible to achieve without some lateral thinking. The entire building was jacked up then eased to one side in order to expose the bedrock, enabling the excavation of a new, lower-ground floor/basement to create a 15’000 square foot residence over 4 floors, then slid back into place for continuance of the fit-out.

Views over the ocean, already spectacular, were expanded upon by opening up the east facade on the upper-ground level to create a 30′ wide x 12′ high glazing portal. Within this fenestration aperture, sliding glass door panels open out on to the coplanar deck. All fenestration in the house is frameless with the glazing aligning to both ceilings and floors, the series of existing regular sized windows removed and replaced by larger apertures.

The entire stairwell including landings were gutted to create an open, uninterrupted, vertical volume through the entire height of the house. Within this void a new custom ribbon staircase forms a sculptural element which opens up on to each of the new landings. A bespoke handrail of steam-bent white oak, as well as concealed lighting, were integrated in to the stair engineering design. Supplementing this an elevator has been added for wheelchair access and goods.

Concealment was paramount in executing the design: “the less you want to see, the more we have to hide” definitely defines the approach to this home with an incredible amount of thought and effort resulting in there being little evidence of the work in the final analysis to the casual observer – the simplicity belies this attention to detail. The rooms are treated as simple neutral backdrops to the homeowners’ exceptional collection of art and furniture. Internal fit-out surfaces are co-planar thus eliminating architraves, cornices and skirting board projections to further remove visual clutter, while shadow gaps conceal all but the decorative light fixtures. All illumination is programmed to automatically adapt to daylight conditions with warm colour temperatures triggered after dusk and cooler tones during the daytime. Other services are also considered in detail with air returns hidden while delivery grills are customised as part of the flooring. Audio speakers and alarm triggers are also concealed so that no services are visible.

Construction 2019 – 2026

Completion 2026

  • Lead Design – Kräg Design, Toronto
  • Architect of Record – Saltsman/Brenzel
  • Main Contractor – Waypoint
  • Site Agent – Ted Danilchick
  • Structural Engineer – Blackwell
  • Lighting Design – VBK Lighting
  • Millwork – ClassCabs
  • Landscape Design – LeBlanc/Jones
  • Mechanical – Kingston H&P
  • Electrical – Hughson Elec’
  • Floor & Tile – Artistic Tile
  • Fenestration – Vitrocsa
  • Light Fixtures – EosALP
  • Controls – Lutron

Testimonials

  • Seriously hardcore ‘old school’…he does everything instinctively and won’t be drawn in to CGIs..quite rightly he pushed us in to a mock-up so we could see exactly what we were getting. Mood boards and renders are nothing compared to a real prototype which cost no more to produce – counter-intuitive genius! Go with it.” 

    Miles Butterworth | GrafikBuro, Switzerland

    “Love the house; love the lighting.  Amazing”  

    Bernie Ecclestone, | F1 Director, Global

    “We have completed a few projects in Spain with Max. He has a refreshingly direct and unpretentious approach. He understands what we want, knows how to achieve it, and hassles everyone to make it happen. He always seem to take us in a direction we had not thought of; light is so difficult to envisage, and if we cannot always understand the proposal, they smile and assure us it will be fine…and it always is. They are reassuring and a pleasure to work with”

    Miguel Arenas | Estudio Arenas, Mallorca, Spain

    “Working in the film industry I fully appreciate the reliance on light as a visual medium – I think of Max as Stanley Kubrick; he is original in concept, groundbreaking in application and uncompromising in direction…the go-to practice if you have a tough, challenging brief”

    Simon Emanuel | Producer & Director – Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Batman

    “We are always very happy with the work you and your team undertake for us. We would not keep coming back if it were not the case. We greatly appreciate the level of service and professionalism in making sure everything works as intended”

     MD | Krimson Developments Limited, Greece

    “A pleasure to work with Max.  Without understanding  the technical aspects being proposed it was a bit of a blind faith – in the past we got a list of products but this house has no visible lights so it was a pleasant surprise to see the finished results.  They even set out projected supply costs so we had a handle on budgets which was super useful ” 

    Paul Zogala | Emerson Consulting, Canada