Sag Harbor, NY, USA
Neil Logan of Neil Logan Architect with Lee Mindel of SheltonMindel has converted a modest, single-story L-shaped cottage into SheltonMindel Curtain Wall Too, a free-standing, two-story volume on a bayside site in Sag Harbor in Long Island, New York.
For its sensitive design, SheltonMindel Curtain Wall Too has recently been awarded a 2022 American Architecture Award Honorable Mention, by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
A key intent of the design was to create a sense of privacy from the street on the front of the house while on the back opening the interior to nature and open waterfront views.
The front of the house serves as the building’s public image.
Setback and parallel to the street, it has a reserved and silent character with few clues as to what lies inside.
A projecting canopy links the on-site parking to the entrance.
On the ground floor, a nominal amount of window openings provide privacy from the street.
The back of the house facing the shoreline is slightly angled to the East to both direct the views and turn away from the adjacent street corner.
The resulting trapezoidal form creates a wider side for the double height living area to the North and shallower width space for the study on the ground level and bedrooms on the floor above.
In plan, the volume extends to the side yard, terminating with a swimming pool accessible from the living area.
With the compact size of the house, (1,200 square feet on the ground floor and 800 on the second floor), an effort was made to both reveal and conceal differences within.
From the exterior, the two levels are distinguished by the offset rhythm of the fenestration.
Facing the water, bands of horizontal sliding glass doors link the living room to the kitchen and dining area while masking their different heights.
Light-coloured natural materials without additional finishes are used on both the interior and exterior, giving the house a sense of lightness and transparency.
For example, as the elegant but simple maple millwork throughout the house grounds the experience, the freestanding Poul Kjaerholm wooden screen becomes an animated link to the wood pool enclosure and stripped down wall to the water.
In the west stair overlooking the daily sunset, Ugo Rondinone’s brilliant green and yellow sun unifies the first and second floor levels just as it unifies the beginning and the end of the day.
The landscaping on the waterside elevation is a projected reflection of the back façade creating a plinth or podium for the house and gently grades into the site, unifying architecture, interior and context.
The architects note that it was a wonderful experience to have a client so involved and committed to the design process, who in his own words states:
“‘The Cove Road design process up until now has been a collaborative, if somewhat chaotic one, in part due to my many friends in the design world, as well as my own desire to experience and really live in the space before committing to a specific design program. Neil Logan did the original concept, design, and construction documents. But in the end (or is it the beginning) it was Lee Mindel of Shelton Mindel, whose friendship and sheer genius helped to resolve what at times seemed unfinished and discordant, and created interiors and gardens that not only honored the architectural intent, but created sublime, joyful environments for living and contemplating the natural beauty of the site.”
Project: SheltonMindel Curtain Wall Too
Architects: Neil Logan Architect
Lead Architect: Neil Logan
Associate Architects: SheltonMindel
General Contractor: Neil Logan Architect
Client: Private
Photographers: Michael Moran
