Evergreen Landing Cottage
The center form, open, light, and airy with its exposed structure, was inspired by research into the history of this particular island neighborhood, which originated as a methodist tenting community. The 3/4 barrel form and its field of skylights, while stepping away from the literalness of a tented image, are rooted in the lightness of tents.
Project Details
Location:
Peaks Island, Maine
Structural Architects:
Whitten Architects project: Winkelman lead
Builder:
LHA Builders
Photography:
James R. Salomon
Recognition
Project Requirements
A 3-season cottage with open public spaces and tons of light, a main level master suite, and 2 guest bedrooms with a bath upstairs. Their goal was for a design with ‘floor to ceiling glass’ to maximize the views, and yet for the new design to weave into the existing context of the island.
Design Concepts
A tight, sloping waterfront site within a thickly settled seasonal community, with north-facing views of great diamond island and casco bay. Calls for a two-part solution. First, daylight: Create a center light-filled contemporary single-story living/dining/kitchen space within a 3/4 barrel-vaulted roof structure.
This space is rotated in plan to sit square to its prime northerly view (skewed to its neighbors). Second: Embed two flanking ‘book-end’ type traditional forms, sitting normal (square) to the neighbors. One contains (and signals) front entry, the other contains bedroom functions and an upper-level program. Their traditional proportions and detail tie the structure as a whole to the surrounding neighborhood.