MODERN BRIDGE HOUSE
Brewster, MA 2009
GENERAL CONTACTOR
STEVEN J. BISHOPRIC, INC.
ARCHITECTURE
RUHL WALKER ARCHITECTS
This modern house was built on a narrow, almost suburban lot overlooking Cape Cod Bay, which was the last open space in a tight neighborhood with no particularly strong image or typology. The raw dunescape had produced a low bowl between the street level access and a waterfront bluff marked with a beautiful stand of choke cherry trees. The owners hoped to construct a loft-like building, with a connected guest house, and lap pool that responded to the natural qualities of the site. The new house accomplishes this by locating a lap pool at the lowest part of the site, surrounded on its perimeter by two modern, wood clad buildings, connected at the far end by a glass bridge overlooking the coast. The pool in this way is also sheltered from the prevailing breeze, and creates an calm courtyard in contrast to the often windswept and exposed nature of coastal homes.
The main house consists of a large loft like room on each of three floors, along with ample and requisite storage and service spaces. Views are open to both the courtyard and the ocean bluff. The glass bridge connects to a guest wing, providing for privacy and autonomy for guests, while allowing for heating of only the core house during the winter months. Exterior forms are modern, with flat roofs and large groupings of windows. Materials are familiar to Cape Cod: weathered gray shingles and contemporary cedar planking.
