A Boston couple with a big extended family wanted to enlarge their brick neo-Georgian with an addition that would fit a generous kitchen and hangout space, all while avoiding superfluous detail. Or, as architecture firm NADAAA interpreted the brief, they wanted a “clean space where they can evacuate themselves from their stuff.”

The architects plotted the striated addition with the owners’ primary goal in mind: to engage with the outdoors year-round. The walls of the rear kitchen and living space are virtually all glass, allowing sight lines to the existing gardens and new pool house through a series of framed vignettes onto the backyard landscape.

The glass box is bookended by uniform “fins” that mark the edge of each picture window. That motif rotates 90 degrees clockwise as mahogany framing on the nearby pool house. According to firm principal Nader Tehrani, “The cladding on the renovation emphasizes verticality and the cladding on the pool house is a play on horizontality.” The two freshly minted facades create a study in contrasts that references New England traditions (board-and-batten and shiplap siding, respectively) without replicating them.

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Facade Focus: Wood