How to Do Irregular Window Patterns

The Pine Plains, New York, home of Elise and Arnold Goodman boasts 48 windows, the largest of which measures 8'6'' by 7'6''. As architect Preston Scott Cohen explains, the "free facade makes it impossible to identify how many levels there are, or even to tell the difference between a door and a window." From without, the windows reveal dramatic glimpses of the 18th-century barn farm and new steel structure that support the house. From within, says Elise, "Each season, each time of day, offers a different view of the world. It's spectacular."

Exterior walls are clad in an sealed, unpainted western red cedar to mirror the colors of the site’s tawny meadows. As the wood ages naturally, it appears as though it emerged organically from the earth.

The renovation of this old stone structure by Wespi de Meuron Romeo architects was, at times, as much archeology as architecture. The small square in front of the building, the only in the village of Scaiano, dates the building, a former brandy distillery fortified with both spiritis and stone walls. After reinforcing the roof and replacing the wood beam floors with concrete, the team started to dig in.