Regional Modern: Metro New York Shows Its Modernist Roots

My last ideabook on regional modern architecture presented urban interiors in nyc, largely lofts. Architects practicing in and around Manhattan will gladly work on these and other small interior commissions, since ground-up building in town is really costly and is relatively infrequent compared to renovations inside old buildings.

So to visit freestanding homes by region architects one needs to look beyond the five boroughs into the larger metropolitan region. The five boroughs number only over 8 million people, however the larger urban area — encompassing Long Island and parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, and even Pennsylvania — accounts for over double that number, a lot of potential customers.

These homes present the New York area and its architects as rather progressive yet deeply rooted in modernism. Based on a home’s place, exterior materials can allow the home blend into its surroundings or standout, representing the objectives of the architect and the needs of the client.

More regional modern architecture:
Boston | Chicago | Austin | NYC | Seattle | Oregon | No. Calif.. | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A.

Eisner Design LLC

A”fact” that’s been carried together with modern architecture is that buildings at the idiom have flat roofs. Of course many do (for numerous reasons, from after Corbusier’s”Five Points,” to price of construction), for example homes with sloped roofs stick out from the pack. This endeavor from East Hampton, on Long Island, features an L-shaped program with roofs that slope perpendicular to each other.

Eisner Design LLC

From another direction the home appears more traditional, but the standing-seam roof which wraps to the wall is definitely unique compared to most Hamptons homes.

Elsewhere in East Hampton is the home whose rear part overlooks a pool. From the garage back is a series of sloped roofs, with this rear volume sloping the contrary direction. This opens the home to the rear yard, particularly in the covered terrace past the dining table and chairs. The timber cladding gives the home a sense of being suspended in its place.

Narofsky Architecture + ways2design

Another home on Long Island that appears rooted to its website is the house in stone and wood. The landscaping also plays a part in this presence, particularly the way that the it rises from front to back (such as the house), culminating at the trees behind the house.

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

In one of those other Hamptons — Bridgehampton — we find this home striking for cantilevering on both ends. This gesture isn’t arbitrary, as it allows the dunes and course pass under the home with minimal intervention. The glass walls take in opinions on all sides.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

While the Hamptons is littered with second homes of Manhattan’s wealthy, Fire Island is a favorite weekend spot that explodes in the summertime. Fire Island is technically a barrier island on the Atlantic side of Long Island. Obviously, views of the ocean and access into the sand is of the utmost importance. This home greets visitors with two options: a ramp to the home or a walk straight into the beach.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

From the shore, the Fire Island home is made of a series of terraces that provide lots of outdoor space for taking from the Atlantic. The lower floor opens to attract more of the outdoors inside. The wood-slat outside is a very nice cladding that origins the home in its own sandy environs.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Another home by the same architects shows the similarities and differences of the prefab modules that the firm uses in their residential commissions. Situated in New Jersey, this home is more closed than the Fire Island House, although it employs a comparable cladding and massive expanses of glass.

Murdock Solon Architects

Another home in New Jersey shows a more Global Style design, with all the whitewashed top flooring and ribbon windows. I like the way the home is formed to an L-shape, creating an outdoor space obtained by sliding glass doors on either side. The cantilevered upper floor and the window at the wall adjacent to the terrace indicate something specific can be located to the right past this photo.

Hanrahan Meyers Architects

Moving north, this home in New York’s Hudson River Valley can be reminiscent of the global Style with its easy volumes and horizontality. Yet the way the home responds to the contours of the website by following the drop of the property is notable, giving the building a sense of respect toward the landscape.

Hanrahan Meyers Architects

Another view of the home shows the other side extending to the landscape, alongside the rugged slope. The windows make it obvious this is the side away from the road, where the interior is connected to the landscape via lots of glass.

WXY architecture + urban design

This home in Connecticut, a renovation along with a classic yet reasonably modern home, is yet another International Style home, originating from the whitewash that covers new and old. While the addition has larger windows, it looks like a natural extension of the existing home, carrying on the personality of the home.

WXY architecture + urban design

Another view of the home shows the intimate scale of the addition. I love the firewood nook next to the doors.

Workshop/APD

Last is this home too in Connecticut. Here we return to the timber cladding that integrates a home more strongly with its surroundings. With time the skin is going to weather to provide the timber a much sexier look, melding it with all the rock garden in front.

Another view shows this home straddling the two approaches I presented here: It equally origins itself together with the timber cladding and stands out from the natural surroundings with all the corrugated metal siding that’s perpendicular to it.

The rock garden is surely a unique touch, something transplanted from everywhere but still appropriate with the easy, modern forms.

More regional modern architecture:
Boston | Chicago | Austin | NYC | Seattle | Oregon | No. Calif.. | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A.

Next: More Inspiring Architecture
Modern vs. Contemporary: What’s the Difference?

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