TERRACE HOUSE

RESIDENTIAL

Location Dutchess County, New York, US
Program Private Residence
Area 519 m² / 5,582 ft²
Status Commission, unbuilt

The existing topography to not only optimizes views and solar access, but also organizes interior circulation in both plan and section. Enclosed by four terraced canopies, an expansive courtyard preserves the gently sloping grade. Breaking with tradition, this courtyard replaces a grand central stairwell with the landscape itself. Entered from the lowest terrace, the project gradually steps up the hillside in a continuous loop, with public and private functions that correspond to the downhill and uphill gradient. At the highest terrace, where the structure stacks on top of itself, a 360-degree panorama of the forest unfolds around the master suite.

WITHIN A FORESTED ESTATE, THIS HOME INTERLOCKS FOUR CANOPIES INTO A PINWHEEL TERRACED INTO THE HILLSIDE

Inside each canopy, individual activity areas are defined without relying on partition walls. Instead, the organizing spatial strategy unfolds through the relation between two inserted, freestanding elements: a square winter garden and an L- or I-shaped core. Unlike conventional rooms defined by four solid walls, here, activity areas and their programs remain functionally distinct yet not isolated. Every activity area remains partially open not only to each other, but also to the native landscape.