On a prominent corner lot just a couple blocks from Sag Harbor Bay, the brief for this project was to create a multi-generational home for a couple and their grown children to spend summers in Sag Harbor, where they have a close community of friends and family.

Being an undeveloped lot, maintaining natural vegetation and an existing berm along the street were important considerations to the site plan design. At the same time, the common suburban norms of territorial tall hedges and fences were traded for a welcoming front facade that includes a modern interpretation of a front porch, in keeping with local community spirit. The notions of porosity and neighborliness were intertwined in the exterior spaces, particularly as entertaining was a key criteria in developing the design of the indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Nestled into the dunes, the massing responds to the existing topography by pushing and pulling to create exterior spaces where the owners can enjoy the outdoors while finding shelter from the elements. The exterior materials - sandstone, ipe wood decking, and fiber cement panels - were chosen for their durability, and to counter the ‘modern white box’ aesthetic of their current home. The volumes of the home are pushed and pulled in plan, with a central axis maintained allowing for clear circulation through the main level. Pushing and pulling also occurs in elevation, by adjusting the height of the roof’s parapet walls, to enhance the reading of a series of volumes slipping in the landscape.

The client also sought to capitalize on recent local efforts to create more housing opportunities through the construction of an accessory dwelling unit. Located in the rear yard adjacent to the pool, a one-bedroom accessory apartment can function as both a guest house and pool house while providing privacy screening to the neighbor and framing the view towards the water. The ADU’s single bar scheme offers great efficiency, as it can be delivered in a single module with nearly all interior finishes complete, thus minimizing on-site costs and time to finish the construction.

Generally, the modular scheme allows for minimized site disturbance compared to stick building, significantly shortening the length of on-site construction. While as much of the existing vegetation was preserved as was practical, the landscape design will be supplemented with native plants, wildflowers, and beach grasses for a natural, beachy feel.