It was back in the late 1980’s when our clients first saw the panoramic westward view of Fishers Island Sound bordered by a coastal inlet and a tidal marsh. They purchased the spectacular pine forested site and spent weekend afternoons picnicking on the wooded lot dreaming about someday building a house. When the cottage next store went on the market they bought it and it became their summer house. Fast forward more than a third of a century; with retirement on the horizon the couple hired our architecture firm to design an energy efficient new home to replace the outdated cottage.

This 4,000 s.f. story-and-a-half residence is a composition of shingled volumes and a single-story stone building all of which tucks quietly into the sloping waterfront landscape. Stepping the grade down three feet along the east elevation ensured privacy from the road and secured the house in the landscape. This rural coastal context suggested smaller building volumes… narrow, story and-a-half wood cottages tailored to a single room width with an accent of stone outbuildings. 

Energy saving and zero carbon design includes: (1) a maximized use of daylighting on south and west elevations while control of harsh summer sun with a free standing arbor on the southwest elevation and automated solar shades (2) ground source geothermal heat pump for space conditioning an (3) use of an ERV (Energy Recovery System) system.

When the project was wrapping up, the homeowners couldn’t wait to tell us that their friends continually ask, “What style is this house… Modern or traditional? The answer is both, but most importantly it’s “their” style.  Nearly a lifetime in the making, the Stonington Seaside House captures the vision for a long dreamed about home.