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Bates Masi + Architects
Deck boards are oriented to the grain of movement and woven toge…
Residential
Mothersill, Watermill, N.Y.
Grand / Custom Home / More than 5,000 Square Feet
2 MIN READ
The goal of any good architecture is harmony between the house and its setting. But rarely does a project achieve it so poetically. Asked to design a new house, architect Paul Masi was given a compelling site: a creek-front property containing a small house and a studio designed by Andrew Geller in 1962. A conservation easement protects the two buildings and a valuable botanical collection that includes 400,000 Siberian irises.
Inspired by the boardwalks of Geller’s coastal architecture, Masi plotted an elevated path that unites buildings and landscape. “His work often contained objects in the landscape that were tethered together with decks and walkways,” Masi says. No ordinary boardwalk, the mahogany decking originates at the relocated Geller house (now a guesthouse), winds around a serpentine hedge, and envelopes a new infinity-edge swimming pool. As it passes the Geller studio (now a pool house), it slides under a shaded outdoor living space before turning toward the L-shaped main house. The path folds up and over the house, culminating in a cantilevered platform overlooking the wetland and creek.
“We spent time developing a certain size and repeating deck pattern, knowing we’d use it in other ways in the house,” Masi says. The abstracted pattern shows up on ceilings, handrails, and the kitchen island, among other places. His design also respects the existing buildings’ pedigree. Tucked into a slope, the new house is lower than the tallest Geller building. Only its chimney reaches the guesthouse height. “We knew that if the main house was fully above grade, the Geller would look a bit like a folly,” Masi says. “We tried not to rival it.”
Our judges praised the project’s rigor and discipline, but also the lyrical quality of a boardwalk floating above grass. “The boardwalk set the tone for the design,” another jury member said. “It’s really pretty, like a haiku that keeps repeating.”
On Site The mahogany decking consists of 1 ½-inch-square timbers flanking 9 ½-inch boards, a pattern the architects abstracted throughout the house. In the kitchen, for example, the ceiling boards drop out to create a trough for light fixtures. “You’re not just punching holes all over the place to put in these things that need a home, but integrating them into the system,” says architect Paul Masi.
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