July 12, 2011 at 9:05 am

2 Homes 1 Lot: Stone Houses by Leroy Street Studio

by twistedsifter

Situated on a flat 12-acre lot dotted with specimen trees, the clients, a mother and daughter, requested Leroy Street Studio design a low-maintenance weekend residence for themselves and their guests. The result was Stone Houses, two separate houses linked with a network of dry-stack stone walls, unifying the exterior and interior spaces and knitting the two buildings together.

A beautiful design and a beautiful combination of wood and granite. Project details and imagery below. Enjoy!

Photograph by Leroy Street Studio

STONE HOUSES BY LEROY STREET STUDIO

This weekend retreat sits on a flat, open 12 acre site in eastern Long Island. The clients, a mother and daughter, requested a low-maintenance residence that incorporated Westchester granite and great expanses of glass to take in views of the property. LSS introduced dry-stack stone walls to unify exterior and interior spaces and to knit the compound together. The walls, linked by water features, provide a unifying texture and distinguish the private, southern-oriented arrival side of the buildings from the northern-facing curtain walls.

The mothers’ house is split into public and private wings by a gallery overlooking a sculpture court. The public wing is a singular volume subdivided by wrapping roofs: the lower roof creates an intimate dining area and screened porch, and the upper one defines the entry vestibule and living room.

The daughter’s house is composed of perpendicular roof planes which over-sail the stone walls; and a taught box of oak glu-lam portal frames wrapped in a continuous skin of louvers.

The two buildings together create an abstract composition of planar materials which redefine the property as a series of internal and external courtyards spaces for the family. The Stone Houses received an AIA New York State Architecture Award.

Photograph by Leroy Street Studio

LEROY STREET STUDIO

Leroy Street Studio is an architectural practice inspired by innovation in design, the craft of construction, and a collaborative approach that places our clients’ needs at the center of the design process.

LSS helps to forge a project brief by pursuing intensive research into local building techniques, systems and materials, as well as rigorously examining the physical, social, and environmental context. We derive architecture through a synthesis of diverse forces that allow us to create a unique design for each client, informed by their requirements and desires.

LSS has led large design teams through the completion of projects throughout the US and abroad. We specialize in complex projects with aggressive schedules, and in innovative, low-cost solutions to everyday problems.

In 2002, in an effort to adapt our process to address the needs of those who do not have access to design services, LSS founded Hester Street Collaborative, a non-profit design/build workshop that helps students and local residents improve their public spaces. In 2008, informed by their backgrounds in contracting, they founded BLDG, a construction management company dedicated to bringing LSS clients a better, more cost-effective product through an integrated design and construction process.

Leroy Street Studio was founded by Morgan Hare and Marc Turkel in 1995. Shawn Watts joined the practice in 1997 and became a partner in 2005. [http://www.leroystreetstudio.com]

Photograph by Leroy Street Studio