Second Homes
Efficient space and construction coupled with natural finishes provide a low-maintenance, intimate setting for vacation and future retirement.
Vacation Retreat, Martha's Vineyard, MA
Located high on a wooded, three-acre site overlooking the north shore of Martha's Vineyard, this small vacation retreat accommodates the needs of a Washington artist and her naturalist husband. Together with images of Tuscan towers and Japanese houses, the most tangible part of this couple's dream was affordability.
Two “Cottages”, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Both located in fields filled with native wild flowers and ocean outlooks, these quietly assertive small vacation houses combine local, rural traditions of steeply pitched roofs and minimal farm buildings with playful references to the grand old summer houses of nearby New England. Affordably built for couples seeking refuge from the congestion and inflated prices of American Coastal resorts, they reflect the familiar, humble presence and economy of means so characteristic of the venerable indigenous buildings of Prince Edward Island.
Retirement House, Vineyard Haven, MA
Located on a secluded 2-acre site, the house is designed for a couple anticipating retirement within five to ten years. In the event of only one survivor, it must be suitable for that person and one live-in caregiver. In the interim it will be rented to one or two couples without children. The house is organized primarily on one floor around a central living space containing a four-poster dining area and a convenient kitchen. A wood stove, a fireplace and moveable screens allow this space to be isolated and heated seperately. This may serve as a winter quarters—a house within a house. Further flexible zoning permits occupancy either by multiple tenants or by the owners downstairs and a caregiver on the loft floor above.
