Channelbeta - projects - Gypsy Trail Residence

Site - At Croton Reservoir in upstate New York, the hills tumble right into the lake. Simultaneously soft and hard, rolling and jagged, the lakefront alternates green patches with craggy, rocky formations. And built into this landscape of leaf and rock and water will be a house--The Gypsy Trail residence. Its ground floor, to be constructed of rough stone collected on site, will be partially recessed into the hillside. Perched above the stone base will be the cantilevered second floor. This box of steel, wood, and glass will sit at an angle, twisted to procure a direct view of the lake and to capture maximum sunlight. The sun's rays will enter through glass planes integrated into a continuous wall-to-roof surface.

Armature - The house's structural center resides in a generative core that, although originating in the ground floor, achieves its full form and function in the second floor. This core, the armature, is a centrally located "smart structure" integrating kitchen, bathrooms, fireplace, heating and cooling systems, and a central music system. The morphing of the armature's programmatic elements produces a segmented, organic shape. Yet the armature functions not only as an infra-structural unit, but also as a circulatory and generative element, directing interior movement and molding the surfaces connected to it. Its organic shape distorts the geometry of the house as "pure box"; the roof above the armature warps to conform to its segmentation. As the structure's hard exterior surface responds to the generative force of the armature, the box softens, tilts, and fragments. Architecture becomes a responsive medium--responsive to the organic shapes and human forms and functions it houses. Where the roof bends to meet the armature, glass planes take the place of the zinc roof in the form of a continuous skylight. Where the glass bends over to become wall at the end of the armature, a transparent shower room is suspended between the trees. As the sun completes its arc through the sky, the armature collects the sun's rays and channels them into various areas of the house. Here, architecture proves itself responsive to both environmental regulators (cooling, heating) and natural environments.

Lounging Voids- The design concept, reactive to the house's siting, introduces a rotation of the second floor, which allows for better views and privacy. Extended from the second floor is a cantilevering terrace, connected to the living room. The second floor entrance has its own suspended terrace, and upon entering the house the gaze is directed through a slot in the kitchen wall, to the lake. On the second floor the living- and dining room, the bedrooms, a sunroom, and an office are located, while the ground floor holds a gymnasium, guest quarters, and a garage. The Ground floor has direct access to the outside via a recessed, hidden path with a retaining wall built of site rocks, one finds here an outdoor shower built in the rocks.

The architecture of the Gypsy House exemplifies the concepts of interdependent layers (wall-glass-roof-glass-armature), efficiency of use (armature as infra-structural core), and negotiation of means (interior/exterior, source of sunlight).

Winka Dubbeldam

Project: Gypsy Trail Residence

Type: 3000 sq. ft. residence + 1500 sq. ft. guest house

Location: Upstate New York

Status: Completion date spring 2003

Architect: Archi-tectonics Design Architect

Winka Dubbeldam Principal in charge

Michael Hundsnurscher Project Manager

Team:

Rob Henderson

Michael Johnston

Kajse Krause

Ana Zatezalo

Tanja Bitzer

Aaron Brakke

Philip Holley

Sebastian St. Jean

Construction Team: Buro Happold Consulting Engineers Structural Engineers

Stanislav Slutsky, P.E. Mechanical Engineers

T & L Construction General Contractor

Israel Berger& Associates Exterior Wall & Roofing Consultant

UAD Zinc roofing, fenestration, railings

LINKs:

Gipsy Trial Residence REPORTAGE

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