House on the Neck
Blue Hill, Maine
Blue Hill, Maine
Project Architect: Eric Reinholdt
[with Elliott+ElliottArchitecture]
Conceptually, this project lies between vernacular andmodernist ideas. Local buildingtraditions inform the shed geometries, the materials they’re clad with, and oneof the most primitive of structural systems, heavy timber. Modernism allows the skin to actindependently of the structural system permitting openings to wrap corners,framing panoramas into the forest canopy, and revealing the particulars of thecoastal topography where the building resides. It is important that the interplay between skin & structure, plane& object, and site & building all be revealed as one moves through andaround the building.
The building is comprised of three volumes, supported by aheavy timber frame, and set upon a terraced ground plane that closely followsthe existing topography. Linking thevolumes, the circulation path is highlighted by large cuts in the skin of thebuilding. These cuts are infilled with awood framed curtainwall of glass offset from the syncopated structural grid. Orienting the sheds on an east-west axisprovided us with a large south flank to gather daylight. It also served as a means of concealingviews to a grouping of buildings to the north. It was our intent to focus views to the varying textures, lightconditions and plant materials native to the site while moving back and forthbetween programmatic components. Themovement up and down, through smaller then larger volumes, through light thendark is a richly varied experience meant to mimic the natural surroundings.
The building is comprised of three volumes, supported by aheavy timber frame, and set upon a terraced ground plane that closely followsthe existing topography. Linking thevolumes, the circulation path is highlighted by large cuts in the skin of thebuilding. These cuts are infilled with awood framed curtainwall of glass offset from the syncopated structural grid. Orienting the sheds on an east-west axisprovided us with a large south flank to gather daylight. It also served as a means of concealingviews to a grouping of buildings to the north. It was our intent to focus views to the varying textures, lightconditions and plant materials native to the site while moving back and forthbetween programmatic components. Themovement up and down, through smaller then larger volumes, through light thendark is a richly varied experience meant to mimic the natural surroundings.
material palette inspiration...eastern white cedar...bubble pond, mount desert island, maine
