Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Designed by Joeb Moore & Partners, the Slice House in Fairfield County, in Greenwich, Connecticut, is meticulously crafted around existing trees and rock outcroppings, is organized into three wings, and creates a seamless connection between the different zones of the structure,
The Slice House has been awarded a 2023 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The building is sited to fit between existing rock outcroppings and key legacy trees on the property, overlapping with the footprint of a former structure in order to minimize excavation and disturbance.
A T-shaped part creates three distinct outdoor spaces and environments: an arrival court to the north, a pool and entertaining terrace bermed between the house and knoll at the east, and a stepped dining terrace perched above a rocky slope to the west.
The structure negotiates more than 50 vertical feet of topographic change on the site: the entry and formal spaces sit on the land, the garage and support spaces to the east are nestled within the land and rock, and the informal living spaces to the west cantilever above the land, looking to a reservoir beyond.
The building itself is organized into three wings: formal living, informal living, and support spaces, anchored to the site by a masonry wall.
Vertical circulation within this void reinforces the transitory/liminal quality of this space.
Apertures function as gaps or slices that reinforce the transition between the three wings of the house.
The varying widths of the windows reinforce key views, but also create a facade pattern that modulates both light and shadow and correlates to programmatic function.
Windows and openings are lined with reflective metal panels that bounce light and landscape views into the interior spaces, indexing the surrounding temporal environment on the building facade and within the home itself.
Project: Slice House
Architects: Joeb Moore & Partners
General Contractor: Tallman Building Co. Inc.
Client: Private
Photographers: David Sundberg ESTO