House in Suffolk County
Suffolk County, NY, USA
2016

House in Suffolk County is a ground up beach house that overlooks the Peconic River, off the Long Island shore. The clients, a New York City-based couple, approached the architect, expressing an interest in building a vacation getaway home; to be used from April to October.

This home was one of the first residential projects to be approved in the area post-Sandy and that conforms to new regulations for greater resistance against the dangers of rising tides and flooding. The house is raised above the regulation flood height, and the overall structure is robust in order to resist future hurricanes. The asymmetrical volume with its varied slope is meant to minimize the home’s impact on the neighbors’ view corridor while the steep roof profile adds an interesting spatial experience to a small house. The roof and the siding are all wood shingles—a traditional material—which are given a new yet subtle identity when wrapped around the entire volume.

The exterior material and general shape respond to vernacular buildings surrounding the house, while its design, elevated on piloti, shows a new paradigm and the possibility of a new vernacular for flood-safe residences by the sea.

Credits:

Design Team: Toshiko Mori, Joshua Uhl, Bella Stone
Contractor: Sam Wood, Inc.
Structural: Rodney D. Gibble Consulting Engineers

Photographs © Chris Mottalini, Michael Vahrenwald