Lake House

2015 - The Berkshires, MA, USA

Architect: Taylor and Miller Architecture

This residence in Western Massachusetts is composed of a series of interior spaces that spatially and materially are dramatically different. Taking on a stance directly opposed to the Modernist open floor plan, the space by space sequence of this house instead embodies the notion of the cinematic 'hard cut', where no transition is offered from one scene to the next; or in this case, from one space to the next. The home's exterior is defined by a subtle concealment of this narrative through the deployment of the landscape, which forces a dramatic transition from the relatively homogeneous landscape-centric exterior to the heterogeneous material-centric interior.

The sculptural volumes that are present from the street are illuminated subtly from the gaps and reveals created at their points of intersection. The lighting source is fully concealed, but the light and shadow created help to define both architectural surface and silhouette. The other landscape lighting is deployed as subtle and discreet moments that occur as one moves towards the home's entry, always illuminating the landscape elements, but never in a continuous way. For the interior lighting, each architectural skylight condition is used as a kind of lantern at night. As the inhabitant move from one space to another, the lighting uses the differentiation of material to act as a canvas for the differentiation of light and mood.