The Cedar Park House by Peter Cohan

Via @Contemporist. The CedarPark responds directly to the predicament posed by the site – that its most desirable location is also its most fragile. It takes advantage of the prospect afforded by a steep site. Two concrete walls mark the site and define its major exterior and interior spaces. The first follows the long northern boundary, cupping at the end to form an outdoor hearth. The second parallels the first, until it bends in the middle and angles to the southeast. Together they form a Y that opens to the east. The walls become a datum against which the slope of the site is measured, growing to eleven feet tall at the entry portal. The steep slope is subject to erosion and landslides, particularly when it becomes saturated with water.

For this reason all of the water from the roofs is collected and conveyed uphill to the street. Two distinct roof shapes reflect different strategies for collecting the water. The western roof conveys rainwater far enough up site to allow it to drain naturally to the street. The solidity of the exterior stands in sharp contrast to the openness of the interior. The chevron-shaped living space is open to the terrace and lawn. The 7 1/2-foot wide doors to the terrace can be slid in either direction. The two arms of the house form the edges of a lawn that extends from the living room to the edge of the bluff overlooking Lake Washington.

Kowalewski Residence - Belmont Freeman Architects

Kowalewski Residence - Belmont Freeman Architects

Article @Archdaily. Atlantic Beach is an established beach community on Long Island, immediately outside of New York City. It is filled with modest houses from the 1920’s and 30’s in Tudor, Spanish and Art Deco styles. As real estate prices rose in the last decade, the village saw a lot of “tear-down” activity, as older houses were replaced by much larger homes. The Kowalewski residence is an attempt to insert a distinctly modern house into the village context in a manner that is respectful of the scale and architectural traditions of the community. The house does not maximize either the bulk or lot coverage allowed by zoning. It is oriented with the narrow face – only slightly wider than the former house on the lot – toward the street, with the traditional side driveway and rear garage. Siting the compact footprint at the north edge of the 85-foot-square lot preserves a wide side garden with mature trees. In form and materials the house recalls the village’s Art Deco heritage.

The 3600 SF house was designed as the primary residence for a family with two small children. For privacy, the street façade is nearly blank, while the principal rooms all open onto the garden to the south. The ground floor has an open plan for casual living and maximum connection to the outdoors. The second floor a hallway with continuous skylight leads to four bedrooms and three baths. A sun room / guest suite on the third floor opens onto a large roof terrace with panoramic views of the island and the ocean. The clients are collectors of contemporary art and the work of some of their artist friends – like the marble floor in the entry foyer – is incorporated into the architectural design.

The structure is steel, with light-gauge metal framed floors and walls and energy-efficient EIS envelope. Principal exterior materials are stucco, black slate, stainless steel and glass. The steel and wood stair floats in a tower glazed in shingled panels of frosted glass, like an over-scaled jalousie window.

Architects: Belmont Freeman Architects

Location: Atlantic Beach, New York, USA

Principal in Charge: Belmont Freeman

Project Architect: Devyn Osborne

Client: Antoni and Joanna Kowalewski

Construction Manager: Anko Contractor

Structural Engineer: Ross Dalland, PE

Site Area: 7,500 sft

Project Area: 3,600 sqf

Project Year: 2007

Photographs: Christopher Wesnofske