Perched on a bluff overlooking the bay in Montauk, New York, the design of this 2,000-square-foot custom home was heavily influenced by the noise of a nearby railway.
According to designer Bates Masi + Architects, Navy Beach employed two sound attenuation strategies as a result.
Bates Masi + Architects
On the ground level, the home embeds into the site utilizing the hillside as shelter from the noise, while thick masonry walls extend from the structure, creating acoustic shadows at the doors and windows.
The masonry walls also form the pool, elevating it to the upper living level. There, vanishing edges on two of the home’s sides open the kitchen, living, and dining to the pool and outdoor living space.
Bates Masi + Architects
To further dampen exterior noise, the architect used a strategy of acoustic separation on the upper level, expressed as a series of layers in the façades.
The outermost layer is a privacy screen of vertical dowels. The second layer provides the structure and weather barrier. The third layer is a wood-framed wall that supports the interior finish, which was designed to match the exterior siding and extends to the ceilings and millwork, creating a minimal palette that does not distract from the primary experience of the place: the view.
Bates Masi + Architects
Project Details
Award: Merit
Category: Custom Home: 5,000 Square Feet or Less
Architect: Bates Masi + Architects
Builder: LSM Development Corp.
Location: Montauk, New York
Size: 2,000 square feet
