Workshop For Architecture LLC

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Fine/Koffler House
2,800 SF
Southold, New York

The clients are a couple with two children. A cinematographer and a film producer, they needed to build a new second home after a fire destroyed their former one. Their desire was to create a weekend place of both solitude and hospitality, away from their hectic urban life.

The initial concept was to create a "floating" ground floor/deck that follows the gradual slope of the ground, winding through the natural terrain. It simplified excavation requirements and allowed the house to both engage and detach itself where needed from the wild landscape of the site.

Inhabiting a portion of this deck is an L-shaped "bar" housing the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and entry areas. Overlapping this volume is the cubic "box" that contains a collection of multi-use spaces such as the living room, dining room and study. These spaces are both defined and undefined, blurring the experience of inside and out, making this modest house appear larger.

The large roof deck continues the fluid movement through the house, accomodating friends and family. The only manicured grass of the property exists at the end of the roof deck. A set of exterior stairs work down a screened shower area, leading back to the primary deck and pool area.

The "bar" material is cedar in horizontal strips and exposed screens. The "box" material are large composite panels, in a staggered ashlar pattern.

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Many schemes were generated for this project. The owner's keen interest in architecture motivated us to explore variations. Books, tear sheets, driving tours with and by the owner helped us get closer to the final design. We were starting to fill up our shelves with rejected study models. The real challange was to tap into something inherant in the site and the owner's many desires.

With the concept of a clean, "floating" deck on a wild, unkept landscape, the design started to take hold. The owner admitted he had no interest in maintaining a pristine lawn, so we toasted and moved on.

There's always a moment when the concept is settled and the euphoria of discovering something new dissipates. That didn't happen so much here. Through construction, as the forms took shape, interesting vistas revealed themselves and an interesting relationship to the land unfolded. The contractor griped about our need for 1/8" tolerances, but we know he is quitely proud of his work, and so are we.

As for the owner, our collaborator on many levels, is happy. We tip our hat to him. As always, an enlightened client, dedicated to this difficult process of making architecture, is our best hope of elevating this profession.