Drive down most roads in Montauk—the coastal hamlet at the eastern tip of Long Island—and you’ll find simple fishermen’s cabins alternating with elaborate constructions that serve as second homes for New York’s upper crust. A new house by Robert Young Architects is located on one such road, but its design deftly straddles a delicate balance between achieving a discreet presence and an undeniable grandeur.
Young, who has offices in New York and in Bridgehampton, also on Long Island’s East End, helped find the two-acre property along Lake Montauk, whose calm waters are a far cry from the mighty ocean waves for which surfers flock to Montauk. The site was previously home to a small, poorly built split-level, and sits beside a modest residence. The clients—a Manhattan couple with two small children— wanted the new house to remain unassuming.
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To achieve that, despite requiring just over 10,000 square feet of program, Young created several distinct volumes—two connected ones that make up the main house and a third for guest quarters above a garage—pushing them to opposite edges of the property. “They don’t link together in your eye,” the architect says.
The barnlike structures represent “the archetypal suggestion of shelter,” according to Young, their gables visible on the inside, most dramatically in the vast space of the main living room, which soars 20 feet to its peak.
That long double-height volume also contains the kitchen and dining area. A taller, two-story structure parallel to it includes bedrooms and auxiliary spaces such as the open laundry area and a television room with built-in furniture that Young’s office designed.
The simplicity of the structures is matched by the materials that form them, ones that will patinate or become duller or more varied over time. Vertical cedar planks clad the exterior walls, standing seam natural zinc the roofs, and rough brick the chimneys (all interspersed with bronze hardware and light fixtures), giving the compound a slightly industrial aesthetic while remaining highly contextual and appropriate in the salty air.
Other aspects of the design are expected to be enhanced with time as well. The property, particularly around the pool that separates the main building and guesthouse and the area between the main house’s large outdoor deck and the shore, is heavily planted with native grasses and shrubs. “We want it to look as if we parked the house in the natural environment,” Young explains.
Inside, Young maintains a muted palette but again introduces a variety of textures, including rugged handmade Moroccan tiles and finishes of heavily knotted wood. “We didn’t want anything blingy,” he says.
The exterior walls facing the road feature scant, small windows, but the portions of the compound with views across the property and to the water are largely clad in high-performance glass (that captures solar gain). Though not designed to Passive House standards, the buildings have extremely energy-efficient envelopes, with 8-inch-thick structural insulated panels sandwiched between the zinc roofing and the exposed wood structure, and a continuous layer of 4-inch-thick mineral wool outside a layer of conventional batt insulation within the walls. “It just makes sense for a house that is not used that often in the winter to keep it as tightly sealed as possible,” says Young. “You barely have to run any heat to keep a stable temperature.”
Upon entering the main house, you are immediately greeted with a panoramic view of the lake, a view that permeates many of the spaces within the compound. Any house located here would inevitably compete with its spectacular setting. Young avoided that issue entirely by creating pure, timeless structures in which one is in awe but at ease, and completely at home.
CreditsArchitect: Robert Young Architects
Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Principal in Charge: Robert Young, AIA, RA Sophie Girard
Architect of record: Robert Young, AIA, RA
Interior designer: Robert Young Architects
Engineers: Becker Engineering, PC - Electrical and Plumbing
Consultants: Audio Interiors, Inc. - Audio Visual Systems
General contractor: Men at Work Construction Corp
Photographer: Michael Moran, 718-237-8830 |
SpecificationsStructural System wood and steel Manufacturer of any structural components unique to this project: Murus Structural Insulated Panels - roof
Exterior Cladding Rainscreen: rough sawn western red cedar planks Moisture barrier: Solitex Mento Black Weather Barrier
Roofing Elastomeric: EPDM roofing by Grace Metal: zinc standing seam by Rhinezinc
Windows Wood frame: Dynamic
Doors Sliding doors: Dynamic
Hardware Locksets: Baldwin Pulls: Sun Valley Bronze
Interior Finishes Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore Paneling: white pine, painted Floor and wall tile: Walker Zanger - Arabescato marble countertop - kitchen Special interior finishes unique to this project: white oak floors from Madera Trade Furnishings Other furniture: 1ST DIBS (MORRISTOWN MODERN) Lighting Interior ambient lighting: A&L Lighting Downlights: Architectural Lighting Works Tasklighting: Brendan Ravenhill Exterior: BEGA Dimming system or other lighting controls: Lutron
Plumbing American Standard
Energy Energy management or building automation system: Zehnder Comfoair 550 ERV |
