Starnbach Residence

Starnbach Residence

The design for this house was driven by an unusual site. A subdivision lot that was in a compact, almost urban, village and yet was entirely wooded with mature spruce and pine.

The shape of the lot and required setbacks meant that the house would be quite close to the street. The first challenge was to create a plan that welcomed people, but also provided privacy from the street. A second challenge was to maintain the sense of leaving the village and stepping into a forest. And a third driving force was that the husband was a serious cook and wanted a large state-of-the-art kitchen.

We wanted some feeling of New England vernacular that makes up this village, but also wanted a contemporary edge that would distinguish it from the large “spec” houses on this cul-de-sac.

We used barnlike forms that were clustered around a small internal courtyard. A connector between the kitchen/dining pavilion and garage has an arched opening that beckons you to come through to the “front door” and the “kitchen” door is inside the arch to the right. The courtyard created by these connected buildings forms an outdoor space that is quiet and composed and allows the perimeter of the buildings to brush up against the surrounding forest.

The kitchen has windows facing the road so the cook can see who’s coming, while all other spaces face back into the forest or into the courtyard. The forested nature of the site means that the south side, which faces away from the street, could have a great deal of glass that leads your eye out into the quietness of the forest.

We wanted a minimalist contemporary aesthetic inside the building where some wonderful furniture that our clients had inherited could float.

With no solar or geo-thermal available due to site constraints, we relied on the smartest HVAC technologies and an extremely well insulated envelope to minimize energy use while still allowing views out into the forest from all the south facing rooms.