Home > Houses > Cubic Sagaponac House by TsAO & McKOWN Architects

Cubic Sagaponac House by TsAO & McKOWN Architects

By Eric Meunier

|

Updated on

The Sagaponac House is a 4,500 square foot house located in an east Long Island community, Wainscott.

Designed in 2007 by Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown, partners of Tsao & McKown Architects, New York, the residence is a two-volume modern and minimalist house.

The upper level above the land line consists of a white simple two-story cube, while the lower volume is built right into the landscape.

This first level is connected to a superb outside swimming pool and offers a complete privacy for partying with a few friends.

The Saponac House project by TsAO & McKOWN:

“A custom-designed house for a hypothetical client explores the universal human desire for both orderliness and spontaneity, while firmly rooting itself to the landscape and creating privacy by shaping the terrain. Design of a 4,500 square foot house at an east Long Island community’s master-planned by Richard Meier.

The primary challenge was to design for the needs of a yet-to-be-determined client. Another significant issue was how to root the house to the earth; the nearly flat site in a young growth forest offered no footing. We responded by reshaping the topography, establishing the first level slightly below grade and sculpting the surrounding terrain into a gentle rise. In addition to anchoring the house, this also allowed the visible volume to be reduced, and enabled the creation of indoor/outdoor spaces that are at once secluded, yet very open to their surroundings.

The house functions (physically and psychically) on multiple levels – as much an intimate retreat for two (or one) as an accommodating host to an extended family (or numerous guests) – thus promoting multiple, overlapping narratives. Above: the public face, contained, controlled, consistent. Below: the private sphere: free-wheeling and spontaneous. We chose to embrace, rather than deny, this inherent ambivalence – a duality that is universal to the human condition.”


Photos by: Michel Moran
Source: DigsDigs

Avatar photo
About Eric Meunier

Currently the Owner and Chief Executive of HODYO Design, Eric Meunier's expertise in the design industry spreads over 20 years. He was the driving force behind HomeDSGN's early success, founding this website in 2011. Today, he loves to channel his passion for design into remodeling houses and transforming interior spaces with his keen eye for detail and architectural finesse. Learn more about HomeDSGN's Editorial Process.

Leave a Comment