This residence with architect Workshop/APD is defined by a striking series of gabled forms, unified under a bold folded-plate roof system. From the exterior, the sharp ridges and deep overhangs read as a rhythm of blackened wood pavilions set within a natural landscape. Behind this architectural expression lies a carefully engineered structural system designed to provide openness and continuity across the home.
At the heart of the design is the folded-plate roof structure. Each angular fold is not an isolated form, but part of a continuous system where the thrust of one fold stabilizes the next. By using this interdependent geometry, the roof is able to resist lateral forces and transfer loads efficiently, which in turn allows the structure to span wide distances with minimal interior supports. This strategy creates cantilevers in multiple directions, producing deep overhangs that shade glass walls and reinforce the floating quality of the volumes.
In our structural models, the folded plate was explored as a balance of ridges and valleys. The flitch beams that define each fold are locked together through a series of ridge and valley beams, with custom saddle plates serving as the connective hinge.
The roof components form a triangulated system where stiffness and strength are developed not only from the material itself but from the geometry of the folds. The models helped demonstrate how the structural logic could remain expressed while still serving the architectural vision of an open pavilion.
The structural clarity of this system allowed the interior spaces to remain unimpeded. Each programmatic volume—living, dining, sleeping—sits beneath its own folded-plate span, defined spatially by the roof above rather than by walls or columns. Large panes of glass slide between folds, making the roof appear to hover above the natural landscape. The absence of intermediate supports opens views across the length of the house and ensures that the connection between interior and landscape is never broken.
This home’s folded-plate system is both a technical and architectural achievement. By combining the precision of flitch beams, the efficiency of saddle plate connections, and the geometric strength of interdependent folds, the structure resolves into a seamless integration of engineering and design. The result is a home that feels grounded and light, a modern expression of structure in the East Hampton landscape.
PROJECT TEAM
Architect: Workshop/APD, General Contractor: Shoshi Builders, Landscape Architect: Farm Landscape Design
