The visually “quiet” street façade of the new house provides no hint of the magnificent views from within, unless someone happens to be peeking down from above, and despite its modern crispness tries hard to be a discrete addition to the neighborhood of older houses. Siding is going to be a mix of cedar shingles and horizontal cedar tongue and groove boards. Image: Ruhl Walker Architects
— in design, houses

New House in Rockport

We are really excited about a new house we are designing in Rockport, MA. Actually, this is one of two new houses we are designing simultaneously within less than a mile of each other in Rockport, but more on that…

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The CHAC sits serenely in the snow, and will really come alive in the spring in contrast to its pastoral setting.
— institutional, pro bono, prefab

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for The Catherine Houghton Arts Center

Our Catherine Houghton Arts Center at The White Mountain School had a ribbon cutting ceremony a short time ago, and Will Ruhl was honored to be holding one half of the amusingly oversized scissors. Outside the thermometer was hovering close…

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Inside, the Music Studio bay window interrupts the rhythm of the curtain wall but adds a contemplative place to sit and create or stare out to the White Mountains.
— institutional, in construction, pro bono, prefab

A New Arts Center for The White Mountain School, Part III

Since our last blog post on the new art studio building that we designed for The White Mountain School in Bethlehem, NH, there has been some dramatic progress; not as much as the aggressive original schedule called for but amazingly…

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Clear finished cedar siding continues uninterrupted over an existing window, allowing the owners discrete views of arriving visitors, but preventing views into the mudroom beyond.
— houses

Before and After for a Mid-Century Modern House

When we first visited this Mid-Century Modern house outside of Boston, we took careful note of what remained of the house’s original modern character, which was camouflaged behind kitschy window boxes, an unsightly eighties garage addition complete with stenciled bird…

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Day 2: The first floor goes up without a hitch, along with the custom curtain wall. We’re told that a rubber mallet was seen on site.
— institutional, prefab, pro bono, in construction

A New Arts Center for The White Mountain School

A lot of progress has been made since our last blog post on the new art studio building we designed for The White Mountain School in Bethlehem, NH. General contractor and prefabricator Bensonwood Construction Company produced all of the Permit-related…

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Photo by Lee Robinson, Seadar Construction
— in construction, waterfront, houses

Architectural Solutions to Coastal Challenges

As construction winds down on our house in Wellfleet, Sandra Baron discusses some specific coastal challenges that were overcome through careful design decisions.     The hot topic following a recent uptick in super-storms is how and even whether houses…

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The cabana with hot tub, pool, and lawn beyond.
— in construction, prefab

Small Project, BIG Impact

When we were approached by the talented landscape architecture team at Reed Hilderbrand to assist them with a small architectural intervention in a much larger landscape design we were instantly intrigued.  Their plans for the residential property already included several…

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The standing seam copper roof was formed on site to navigate the curve.
— waterfront, in construction, houses

Curves are Taking Shape in Wellfleet

Following up on our most recent post, Sandra Baron describes the process of building curved roofs and walls with today’s technology.     We always enjoy pushing the envelope, but when our clients came to us requesting a design that…

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We decided to use copper for the arcing roof since copper will patina over time and that will help the roof and the house virtually melt into its surroundings.
— houses, in construction, waterfront

The House of Shifting Sands

When we last posted photos of our Griffin Island house in Wellfleet, MA, the board-formed concrete foundation under the main house was rising out of the sand and the art studio was taking form to the south. Time flies, but…

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One of the most prominent features of the new arts center will be its “Arts Bridge” that not only connects the new studios to an existing campus path but also provides outside painting and drawing space and can function as a balcony for an adjacent amphitheater.
— in design, institutional, pro bono, prefab

A New Arts Center for The White Mountain School

We’ve been hard at work on the design of a new art studio building for The White Mountain School in Bethlehem, NH, this winter and are happy to be able to share the new design with you. We previously mentioned…

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The interior of the open-air education pavilion at the Hawaii Wildlife Center. The side walls are translucent corrugated polycarbonate to keep rain out and the end wall is composed of varying widths of fiber-cement slats, spaced apart at different intervals to allow for controlled natural ventilation from the steady trade winds. Photo Credit: Ethan Tweedie Photography
— institutional, pro bono, studio

Another Award for our Hawai`i Wildlife Center!

We were thrilled to learn in late November that Architect magazine had honored our Hawai`i Wildlife Center on the Big Island of Hawai`i with an honorable mention in their Annual Design Review Awards program. However, we had to wait until…

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