After having previously designed a live in dance studio outside of NYC for an active choreographer, a private home was designed as a retreat from the often week long dance programs at the studio. The goal was to build a modest home large enough for good sized gatherings and at the same time intimate enough for private use. The house is set on a large rolling meadow at the base of a hillsideoverlooking a beautiful southeast view and backing up to the protection of the woods. New England’s cool summers and long snowy winters required a strong and protective sloped roof, super insulation, radiant floor heating, plenty of natural daylighting and natural cross ventilation in lieu of air conditioning. The straightforward design,the simplicity of construction and the use of local materials offered an achievable challenge to the local contractors familiar with traditional New England designs.
