The development of the architecture and the site were critical to blend the home into this well established, but evolving, neighborhood. One goal was to make the home appear as if it had been there 20 years. The home is designed on just under an acre of land with a primary concern of working around the old, established trees (all but one was saved). The exterior style, driven by the client’s taste of a modern Craftsman home, marries materials, finishes and technologies to create a very comfortable environment both inside and out. Sustainable materials and technologies throughout the home create a warm, comfortable, and casual home for the family of four. Considerations from air quality, interior finishes, exterior materials, plan layout and orientation, thermal envelope and energy efficient appliances give this home the warmth of a craftsman with the technological edge of a green home. Photography by Casey Dunn

Design by Mark Cunningham © Robert Granoff

Perched on a bluff overlooking Block Island Sound, the property is a flag lot at the edge of a new subdivision, bordered on three sides by water, wetlands, and woods. The client asked us to design a house with a minimal impact on the pristine landscape, maximum exposure to the views and all the amenities of a year round vacation home. The basic requirements of each space were considered integrally with the effects of sunlight, breezes and views. The house was conceived as a lens, continually framing and magnifying the subtle changes in the surrounding environment.

Robert Hatch, photographer, 2011

Photos Courtesy of Sharon Risedorph and Arrowood Photography