Shawangunk Ridge House Ulster County, NY
2004 American Institute of Architect's Award for Architectural Design
2004 American Institute of Architect’s Award for Architectural Design
Located in the wooded area on the edge of a pristine pasture, it nestles into its site and frames a spectacular view of the nearby Shawangunk Ridge. It combines exposed timber framing, stone, and a glass curtain wall. The residence was designed with sustainable building materials and features a wide variety of unique green building technologies.
Inspired by a view of the nearby Shawangunk Mountains in New York State’s Hudson River Valley, the Shawangunk Ridge House was originally built as a high-performance "green" building. The house is designed as an advanced passive solar structure with a strong emphasis on maximum energy efficiency and total passive cooling.
This home is an extension of its local landscape, dissolving the normal boundaries between the site and the structure. Particularly in the living/dining/kitchen area with its large glass curtain wall, natural stone flooring, exposed wood timbers and structural framing, all pass seamlessly from interior to exterior. On either side of the open central area of this single-story home are two angled wings. One side contains the large private master suite, as well as the home's conveniently placed laundry. The other wing contains a bedroom and a home office/study.
The original home was carefully sited on a wooded hill overlooking a broad meadow with wide views of the mountains in the distance. The house is designed to frame the view and integrate naturally into the site. Old stone walls and glacial eratta at the original site were integrated into the design while sloped ceilings, generous windows, decks and terraces bring the house directly into the site and provide a wide variety of exterior environments to enjoy.
The exposed heavy timber structural frame and tongue in groove wood ceiling are of cypress, a material whose natural beauty and rot-resistant qualities made it possible to design an architectural landscape where materials pass from interior to exterior without change. The interior walls, trim and exterior siding all feature cypress paneling and timbers. Gypsum wallboard, soapstone, glass tile and ceramic tile were other primary finish materials. The exterior walls feature a "rain screen" venting system between the siding and sheathing for moisture control and uninterrupted thermal insulation. The masonry walls of the fireplace as well as the stone floor act as thermal storage, stabilizing the interior temperatures by absorbing and storing excess daytime heat, then slowly radiating that heat at night.
The walls, and fireplace (which provides secondary heating for the main room), are constructed of "Gunk-Crete," a specially formulated quartzite aggregate white concrete that is an analogue for the local stone. The roof structure is a unique "Umbrella Roof," designed to dissipate summer heat gain and passively cool the structure. Named for its inherent shading qualities, the Umbrella Roof is an innovative layered system comprised of high-performance insulation with a radiant barrier under recycled metal roof panels.
Careful orientation and site placement insure natural breezes ventilate the house via the abundant well-placed windows. Existing or planted trees can be used to shade the structure. The heating system is a highly efficient radiant floor heating system embedded in the concrete slab and stone floor.
Shawangunk Ridge House