Modern Waterfront Residence

This modern waterfront residence is composed as a horizontal bar nestled into the landscape. This composition is derived from two distinct forms. One is a streamlined, metal-clad bar building, while the other is large,wood-clad, shed-roof forms reflecting the agrarian vernacular of the region. These shed-roof forms are “hung” from the bar and arranged to provide varying views of the landscape. Expansive, floating glass cubes arepulled out of the shed forms to extend the view towards the water and enhance the feeling of floating above the landscape.

This integration with the landscape allows the house to read as a retention wall and helps to amplify the effect of the cantilevered shed roofs. This relationship with the landscape was carefully calibrated to allow you toenter the house on a level plane and float above the land form as you progress towards the waterfront.

A large concrete wall slices through the house as an organizing element and extends into the landscape to the water’s edge, terminating at an outdoor fire pit. A row of trees at the entry side begin to formulate thelinearity of the wall serving as a marker to transition from public to private. As you begin this progression you immediately walk through, then adjacent to the wall along an elevated walkway, which heightens the sensethat you are beginning to float above the landscape. This floating feeling culminates in an elevated panoramic view of the waterfront as you spill into the main living space. As you continue through the house, you arereintroduced to the concrete wall and are continually negotiating your way through, around, and adjacent to this linear element.

The program addressed the desire to capture as many of the view sheds as possible by creating a series of independent spaces spread across the narrow bar at varying angles. This approach breaks the house intothree distinct zones; a central public zone flanked by private zones on either side. The central public zone encompasses the main entry, dining, living, and kitchen, which culminates in a large, collapsible glass wall thatconnects the kitchen to the outside through a cascading series of terraces into the landscape beyond.

The two-story private zone encompasses the master suite, two additional bedrooms, a full bathroom, and a laundry room, while the single-story private zone encompasses an office, powder room, and gallery. The lowerlevel of the house includes an exercise room, in-home theater, storage, and a large game room with 12-foot-wide sliding glass doors, again allowing the space to spill out into the landscape.

In response to the narrow site constraints and local codes, the metal-clad bar portion of the residence utilizes a green roof to offset the amount of impervious ground coverage, while softening the edge of the streamlined form.

Architect: Leif Kallquist | Holmes King Kallquist & Assoc., Architects LLP