*PV+ House was awarded Second Place in the “Small Lots / BIG IDEAS” Competition This prototypical house has the potential to be a “zero energy” or “energy plus” home. The design typology is based on both the classic New England barn and the New York loft. The footprint of the building is 24 by 42 feet, providing a compact yet spacious 2,000sf house. This barn-like structure is very flexible; its open plan allows for a wide range of plan interpretations. Core services are located on the north wall and can be expanded so as to allow the kitchen or master … Continued

Located on the edge of Hangzhou’s growing metropolis, ChuanHua is a new development for 18 custom designed villas. The images included here represent the first of five villas designed. The relatively flat and lightly wooded site is bisected by a wide canal. The individual site parcels are designed to work with the qualities of the site, its topography and ecology as well as allowing each parcel to have direct access to the canal. No two parcels are identical. A boardwalk aligns the canal, providing public access to the waterway and its piers. As the first villa designed, its scale and … Continued

Set in a typical suburban tract development just outside the historic center of Lexington, MA, this design attempts to provide an alternative model to the 1950’s split-level home it replaced. The design objective was to create a larger, more spacious home (3,000 SF) while also building a structure that would be sympathetic with the neighborhood. This aim is partially in response to the community’s increasing concern over the “mansionization” phenomenon, where smaller, older homes are replaced by large, oversized, and out of scale 5,000 SF + houses. In addition, despite a relatively tight budget, the clients hoped to have a … Continued

This house, which perches on the edge of a dramatic bluff, offers expansive and stunning views of the Bay. Because it sits on an ecologically sensitive site, one susceptible to the destructive and erosive effects of wind and rain, the house distributes its program delicately in three separate volumes. These one-story volumes are parceled according to program to reflect the respective requirements of public living spaces, studio and guest quarters. The program spaces were laid out in consideration of numerous factors, including internal requirements, prevailing winds for natural ventilation, optimized views, location preferences relative to the site, as well as … Continued

The clients’ love of nautical imagery inspired this 5,500 SF house that sits on an inlet on Martha’s Vineyard. The overall organization of the building is based on a series of three long bar-shaped structures supported by columns. Like wharves or piers in a harbor, they extend into the landscape. A series of vessel-shaped buildings are attached to these pier-like structures. Each vessel has a different size, orientation, and shape, dictated by the program needs. The largest of these vessels is the living/dining room, which is oriented parallel to the water and whose roof takes on the character of an … Continued