RECENT

Our most recent project is the complete reinterpretation of an C18th house, perched on the Atlantic cliffs north of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. As a conservation restriction applies to the original footprint 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.

The views over the ocean were expanded upon by opening up the east facade on the upper-ground level creating a 30′ wide x 12′ high glazing element. 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 installed for goods and wheelchair access.

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 no 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 after dusk and cooler during the daytime. Other services are also considered in detail with air returns hidded 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