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New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects

An environmentally sustainable building clothed in the vocabulary of the Pennsylvania farmhouses

New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects
Pennsylvania farmhouse

Project: Pennsylvania Farmhouse
Architecture: Cutler Anderson Architects
Lead Architects: James Cutler, Meghan Griswold
Structural Engineer: Jerome Madden of Madden Baughman Engineering
General Contractor: Breig Bros. Inc.
Construction Supervisor: Frank Truncali
Location: Hancock, Pennsylvania, United States
Photography: David Sundberg/Esto
Courtesy by Cutler Anderson Architects

Awards
AIA National Housing Award Residential Design, Architecture

We were engaged to design a new four bedroom farmhouse on an existing 280 acre family farm in a remote area of northeastern Pennsylvania. The owners chose a piece of land in a meadow on the edge of a hedgerow. The building was designed with a low surface area to volume ratio in order to save costs and simultaneously reflect the simple white form of the practical farmhouse architecture of this region.

New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects 1

The rolling sunshades and screens that enclose the building were designed to respond to solar gain through the large south-facing windows and also enable the building to be safely closed when the owners wanted more privacy.

New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects 2

Toward the end of the construction phase, the contractor presented anecdotal evidence that when the sunshades were closed on hot summer days, the inside temperature was reduced by as much as 20 degrees F. Currently there is no air conditioning in the building but the ambient inside temperature seems comfortable for all occupants.

New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects 3

This new Pennsylvania farmhouse is heated with a ground source heat pump, backed up with a wood-fired boiler. Wood for the boiler comes from deadfall trees and branches from the surrounding woodlands on the farm.

living area

The heat from the wood stove in the living room is captured by ducts at the ceiling and circulated to other rooms throughout the house.

living room

stair

bedroom

New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects 8

New Pennsylvania Farmhouse by Cutler Anderson Architects 9

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