Lake House

Designed by New York-based studio Taylor & Miller, the white residence in Western Massachusetts maintains a dualistic relationship with the lake against which it is nestled.

This residence in Western Massachusetts maintains a dualistic relationship with the lake against which it is nestled. When seen from the street, the house is abstract in form, showing no aperture or puncture. As one steps down the walking path and towards the lake, however, the house opens itself up.

A singular stacked timber wall, serving as both retaining wall for the landscape in which the home is embedded and as a primary enclosure for the home, becomes punctured intensely as the home turns towards the lake. A series of sleeves act as spatial leaks, breaking through the timber and allowing the interior spaces to reach out to the lake in the form of very specific views.

As one moves through one of the sleeves and into the interior of the home, two different spatial orientations are introduced – one horizontal orientation that is defined by the sleeves looking out to the lake and a vertical orientation that is defined by the sleeves looking up to the sky up to the sky.