Home Design

Drawing inspiration from the farmhouse vernacular, the Clinton Corners Residence features gabled structures clad in western red cedar and topped with standing seam metal roofing.

Although synthetic slate roof tiles have been around since the 1970s, the way architect Stephen Bruns used them to completely clad Woven House is unusual. "I love this material," says Bruns. "The way light reflects off the tiles creates a specular effect, almost like a mosaic." That reflective quality is enhanced by the floor-to-ceiling windows by Loewen.

One of the main goals of the construction was to do as little harm as possible to the existing environment, which includes waterways that salmon depend upon. Herrin and his team created a garden roof that covers the full extent of the home to meet this objective. “This helps control storm water runoff and also replaces lost insect habitat—insects being a critical food source for juvenile salmon,” he says.

For this Long Island project, architect John Patrick Winberry rotated the back of the home ninety degrees, designing the main living spaces around an L-shaped corner. This allowed the building to follow the path of the sun and “interact with the interior,” as Winbury puts it, through an abundance of carefully placed Marvin windows.