BRIDGE HOUSE - Modern Cape Cod Beach House
Approached by clients with a narrow, almost suburban lot overlooking Cape Cod Bay, inspiration for a modern beach house was quickly drawn from the raw dune-scape, which had produced a low bowl between the street-level access and a waterfront bluff marked with a beautiful stand of choke cherry trees. The owners envisioned a loft-like building, with a connected guest house, and a lap pool. Another key objective was to design a house that responded to the natural qualities of the site. To accomplish this, the new house was conceived as a series of modern volumes connected by bridges spanning the undulating site, with a central pool deck at the lowest part of the site. The pool in this way is also sheltered from the prevailing breeze and creates a calm courtyard in contrast to the often windswept and exposed nature of coastal homes.
The main house consists of large open plan rooms on each of three floors, reminiscent of the casual feel of loft spaces the owners admired. Views are open to both the central pool courtyard and outward over the ocean bluff. Spanning over the pool and connecting the two volumes of the house is a glass bridge, providing privacy and autonomy for the guest wing of the house, while allowing for only the core house to be heated during the winter months. Exterior forms are modern, with flat roofs and large groupings of windows. Materials are familiar to Cape Cod: weathered gray shingles and contemporary cedar planking that are compliments to the relaxed Cape Cod setting.
Location | Brewster, MA
Completion | 2009
Photographs and Architectural Visualization | Walker Architects
Architecture | Ruhl Walker Architects (predecessor firm)
General Contractor | Steven J. Bishopric, Inc.
FEATURED MODERN HOMES:
