The Pike & Pond residence was an exploration of natural materials and forms on a sloping rural landscape in Long Island. Designed by Oza Sabbeth Architects, the site sits adjacent to a heavily trafficked roadway. The resulting design presents a solid, somewhat brutalist expression to the street intended to dissuade outside sounds and views from entering. Oza Sabbeth plays with the perceived depth of the massing from the street to create opportunities for entry that are not visible to the passerby.
The structure was designed with its aspect away from the road with lower levels stepped into an escarpment. Lateral load-resisting elements located in these solid walls extend down through exposed steel columns that enable large openings in the façade for views of the pool and garden below.
Of visual imperative to the architect was the relationship of the facade to the massing and structure of the building. The offsets amongst the planes create opportunities for entry and movement. At the front of the residence, the building massing pulls back from the gabled facade to create a covered entry sequence at the ground level. This shift also provides space for an interior corridor at the second floor punctuated by a recessed exterior window at its end.
In this interior space, the steel column is a distinct structural expression located at the corner condition where the glazing wraps around the living room. These large openings give floor-to-ceiling views and allow the resident to engage with the surrounding landscape.
PROJECT TEAM
Architect: Oza Sabbeth Architects, General Contractor: Modern Green Home
