Project: Cape Elizabeth Home
Architects: Kevin Browne Architecture
Location: Cape Elizabeth, Maine, United States
Landscape design: Soren deNiord Design Studio
Photography: Jeff Roberts
The owners of this property on the marsh, set out to create a home that maximized the 180 degree view that they had of the marsh. The lot is mostly free of trees and had a gradual grassy slope to it, and is a part of a small subdivision. The clients had many goals with the design of the home that would sit on this lot. A few terms that they used to describe what they wanted are: crisp, contemporary, simple, innovative, minimalist and energy efficient. They hired Kevin Browne Architecture to create a design that would incorporate these terms and more in the design of the home.
The result is a simple series of white, clapboard, gable forms. The gable forms started small at the garage end of the house and larger at the main part of the house. The two main house gable forms are identical in size and bisected by a flat roofed “transept” form. The “transept” is cladded in stained cedar T&G siding to contrast the other forms of the house. The windows are also very simple, with a higher u-value for better efficiency, and low maintenance. Special attention was paid to the building’s thermal envelope to include high R-value insulation and also minimize thermal bridging.
The interior of Cape Elizabeth Home is very clean and minimal with drywall returns at the window and door openings and a simple wood window sill. A floating steel and wood stairway is a design focal point that can be viewed from most areas of the open first floor plan. At the top of these stairs is a steel and wood catwalk that bridges the interior space of the two main gable forms.
When completed the owners of this home will be able to entertain comfortably or just relax in their private, backyard oasis, after a long day at work.
