ANCRAM COUNTRY RETREAT

Architect: Hariri & Hariri Architecture D.P.C

Client: Witheld

Completion date: 2018

Program: Main House (Completed 2015), Guest house, Gym House, and Utility/ Equipment House and a pool & a vegetable garden.

Built Area: 10,000 sq ft

This recently completed master plan is located on a spectacular 140 acres of land in Columbia County, New York. The site, project scale and the mere beauty of the nature required a careful study of land’s topography and prominent features for sitting the structures while simultaneously maintaining much of its rugged & rural beauty. The master plan includes a Main house, Guesthouse, Gym House, and Utility/ Equipment House and a pool & a vegetable garden.

Conceptually the whole project including the main house is designed as a COLLECTION OF VOLUMES or PODS wrapped in IPE wood which are a modern reinterpretation of farm structures, barn & storage sheds one finds on the surrounding farm lands. Just like the old farm structures, the volumes are abstract sculptural forms with walls slanted simulating the swayed barns ready to fall down. The space and gap between each volume and pod breaks down the required program into more intimate structures near one another similar to the farm settings nearby.

It is however the integration into the land contours, engagement of three large outcroppings, and the use of green technologies that is making this country home a smart getaway from New York City. 13 large solar panels (12’x13’) are installed in the landscape like a work- of- art and they also provide the required electricity for the pods. Deep geothermal wells assist with heating & cooling. A computer that reports back to the owner around the clock monitors the mechanical systems. The owner via a touch of a button also controls all temperature controls, alarm system, shades, and lighting. Finally it is the use of sustainable materials, green design, cutting edge technologies combined with simple, pod-like structures wrapped in wood, composed around a pool with two large stone fireplaces (outdoor & indoor) that make this country setting both SMART & SPECIAL.

Credits:

Architect: Hariri & Hariri Architecture D.P.C

Structural Engineer: Silman

MEP Engineer: IP Group

Contractor: John Larkin - MJ Larkin & Co. INC

Photographer: Eric Laignel