A Quiet Family Home Of Loud Noise
Quite an unusual brief, but this Elizabeth II home has been designed as such to both limit the sound heard from its local village, and create unique acoustic qualities for both the family and their guests. Located in a Amagansett (USA), a thriving resort town, the home really does have quite a wonderful character relating to architectural acoustics, and its associated form and materials.
As the designers Bates Masi Architects explain, "...Too often, architecture fixates on the visual sense, with little regard for other faculties of perception." With the home located in such a bustling town, the intention of shielding the property from the sound of the village is really quite unique as the project's core focus, whereby usually such a constraint is but one of several that any architectural brief possesses.
Comprised of a series of parallel walls that provide visual privacy and insulation from the village's sound, these project beyond living spaces and vary in height; by way of sound diffraction, the acoustic shadow over the property enables a quiet outdoor area. Made from insulated concrete that is almost 50cm thick - conventional walls are 25 - 30cm thick by comparison -, their sound qualities also match their strength and ability to also be structural beams, enabling them to span over large open spaces, such as those at the centre of the house and around the covered deck.
Due to the home's nature, traditional wood cladding would not work due to expansion of the concrete, and so via a series of custom stainless steel clips than ensure the home cedar board's prolonged life, the home has everything but a hard time looking awesome. Acoustic properties continue inside whereby the staircase's treads taper in thickness and change in angle as one ascends from the basement woodshop, past the public spaces, guest room and master bedroom, and up to the childrens' rooms on the upper floor, all to reflect sound away as you progress up through the spaces.
side from the obvious high-aesthetics that the home has, SATORI & SCOUT's architectural background really appreciates how this home directly expresses the research of sound and how it affects our perception of space. Often subtle qualities that are successfully (or less succcessfully) in many modern homes, the Elizabeth II home is unique by way of it being the primary constraint, informing many details, materials, and forms. Discover more about the designers and the home at BatesMasi.com.
Photography credit : BatesMasi.com