A House Sheathed in Metal and Oriented for Energy Efficiency Is a Brooklyn Family’s Upstate Haven

After a decade of renting, architect Alessandro Ronfini and Astrid Chastka, a set designer and art director, were eager to buy a property of their own. Staying in their Brooklyn neighborhood would mean another small apartment, so they began looking for land upstate. In 2018, they purchased 11 forested acres in Olivebridge, a hamlet that had everything they wanted: natural beauty and a creative community, and still less than two hours from the city, where their work is based.