The site for this house is a one-acre lot in a rather typical New Jersey suburban subdivision containing twenty-six other one-half to one acre lots arranged along curving streets. The existing homes sit as centralized independent objects with almost equal amounts of space to the front, sides and rear. All of these homes, both the California contemporaries as well as the more traditional models, are central stairhall H-Plan configurations with living room and dining room flanking the entry, kitchen and family rooms beyond. Garages are generally plugged onto the kitchen side of the house.
The site for this house is a one-acre lot in a rather typical New Jersey suburban subdivision containing twenty-six other one-half to one acre lots arranged along curving streets. The existing homes sit as centralized independent objects with almost equal amounts of space to the front, sides and rear. All of these homes, both the California contemporaries as well as the more traditional models, are central stairhall H-Plan configurations with living room and dining room flanking the entry, kitchen and family rooms beyond. Garages are generally plugged onto the kitchen side of the house.
We began by identifying the central problem of these conventional suburban homes: their failure to define public, private and service realms within the suburban landscape. Our aim was to use the building form to provide a clear hierarchy of exterior space and clear distinctions of land use. Toward this end, we developed a linear configuration for the main building that breaks in two places to parallel the curving street. The bent bar clearly establishes a front, public realm along the street and unambiguously separates this realm from the private, south-facing outdoor living spaces to the rear. In addition, the bar configuration allows every principal room to have south light and a view. Owing to the position of this site at the head of two parallel streets, the south view is particularly compelling; a long, unusually open expanse unfolds between the backyards of rear facing homes. A portion of the front bar has been rotated back to provide a defined and enclosed service court between the house's public face and its private yard. The garages, mud room, children's play room, and service area are all accessible from this court.
Internally, the house is arranged as a linear, narrative sequence of rooms that are focused yet retain many open-plan qualities. The living room, entry hall, kitchen hearth, and dining room are each simultaneously dependent and independent events within the sequence. Each room has its own unique focus but is also connected by its inverted ceiling section to most of the other principal spaces of the main floor. Together they become a single long room framed by the overhanging outdoor spaces of the patio and porte-cochere at the extreme ends of the home.
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