Chermayeff House

The relationship between man and nature is fundamental within the architecture. In the design of this weekend house on a forested hill in New York’s Hudson Valley, we try to connect the house to the outside on a very human scale. By dissolving and distributing the mass of the building into a loose gathering of solids and voids we create a house that is equally open in all directions and welcomes nature inside. The common programs – study, dining, living, bath and bedrooms, are separated from and connected to each other by un-enclosed courtyards. Passive cooling through cross ventilation and the shade of existing trees allows for the elimination of active cooling. The house realizes two distinct conditions: “living small” – by minimizing the construction footprint, and “living in the forest” – by creating a permeable edge between built and natural.

In collaboration with: Solid Objectives, so-il