Belmont Freeman Architects

This residential complex in Chilmark, Massachusetts, rests lightly on twenty-nine acres of oceanfront property. Low and modestly scaled, its 2,200 sf one-bedroom house is connected by a breezeway to a 1,350 sf spa containing an indoor lap pool. Across an entry court, a second structure contains a 600 sf studio, carport, and a 2,600 sf commercial grade greenhouse for the cultivation of heirloom roses, a passion of the New York-based owner. A 1,250 sf, two-bedroom guest house completes the composition.

Principal materials for the project include concrete floors, quartered Alaskan yellow cedar interior walls and millwork, “Shou Sugi Ban” charred cedar exterior cladding, and high- performance stainless steel and glass windows and doors. The residence is designed to Passive House Institute “Low Energy Building” standards for optimal sustainability. The north walls are nearly devoid of openings while the 147-foot long, ocean-facing south facade is fully glazed, with an overhanging canopy precisely dimensioned for shade in the summer and solar gain in the winter.

The project includes extensive landscaping to protect fragile wetlands and to restore the site, which was formerly a sheep farm, to meadows and native-species vegetation. Preserved farm structures, located downhill from the new house, are repurposed to serve a new outdoor swimming pool.