Perched high on a hill, this country house in Westchester, New York overlooks the family’s property, wooded hills, and neighboring reservoirs. Framed around views of the fourteen-acre site, the design of this weekend home is based on classic proportions while incorporating modern elements suitable to its rural East Coast setting.
Project: Hudson Valley Residence
Studio Name: Olson Kundig
Design Team:
- Design Principal: Jim Olson, FAIA
- Project Manager: William Franklin
- Project Architect: CJ Christensen
- Architectural Staff: Jerry Garcia, LEED® AP, and Michelle Hamilton, LEED® AP
Area: 13,000 SF (1,208 square meters)
Year: 2017
Location: Westchester, New York, USA
Consultants:
- General Contractor: Prutting & Company
- Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates
- Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: Altieri Sebor Wieber
- Civil Engineer: Kellard Sessions Consulting
- Landscape Architect: Edmund Hollander Landscape Architects
- Lighting Design: Richard Shaver
Photography Credits: Aaron Leitz
Stone chimneys and fireplaces are juxtaposed with modern materials such as steel and copper while a formal entry sequence through a covered courtyard opens to a suspended, triple-height steel staircase. This integration of tradition and modernity lends a stately balance to the home, which is presented as an elegant object surrounded by expansive lawns.
The residence is organized into two levels and a basement, with several outdoor terraces extending off the ground level rooms. Upon entering the home, a long promenade corridor extends in either direction, housing works from the owners’ collections of art and Asian porcelain. Every vista ends in a framed view of nature subtly recalling the floral themes that decorate the porcelains. All views are complemented by the classic proportions of the home.
A formal living room on the main level stands almost as a pavilion unto itself, with sliding window walls on both sides, and a double soffit ceiling with clerestory windows that accentuate the lofty verticality of the space. An informal family room on the western prow of the home is capped by the master suite above, yielding breathtaking views from both rooms all the way down the nearby reservoir. Auxiliary spaces include two guest rooms on the main level and three on the floor above, along with an upper-level exercise room, art studio and office.
“Every room throughout the home is designed to look out onto the landscape. Windows frame views of nature, which draws your attention to the surrounding natural environment. Walking down a hallway, it’s like you’re walking toward a focused vista of the landscape.” –Jim Olson, FAIA, Design Principal
