Sycamore Creek
By Stamberg Aferiat Associates
We wondered how we would seamlessly bring together our client's love of
Japanese palace architecture, their collection of large-scale modern art and
the architecture of this 200-year-old farmhouse while enhancing the site's
thirty-two beautiful acres, including two ponds with wooded islands. The
clients asked that the modifications and addition respect the existing
farmhouse and take advantage of the magnificent landscape. The introverted
farmhouse needed some radical, yet careful attention.
Rather than imitating an old farmhouse with the addition, we recommended
maintaining the spirit and scale of the farmhouse from it's primary vantage
point while adding the experientially varied concepts of Japanese palace
architecture to create dynamic spaces within the farmhouse and the new
addition. Principles of Japanese palace architecture also informed the
elevations hidden from the primary elevation. We removed the ceiling in the old
living room, thereby eliminating the former master bedroom on the second floor
and creating a 2-story space in the original farmhouse.
The south half of the former living room became a new double-height library,
and the balance of the main floor space now contained a reception room with a
new master suite above. The reception room spills into the new living room
wing, which in turn, opens onto sweeping views of the landscape.
PROJECT
A Modern Homage to the Ancient Katsura Palace in Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
A 2,500 SF Addition
MATERIALS
Corrugated Metal, Cedar Siding, Crackled Glass
SCOPE
Complete Architectural Services, Interior Design, Construction Administration