Lake House

Residential

Jul 15

New Fairfield, Connecticut

Completed - September 2021

Design Team
Max Worrell, Jejon Yeung, Yunchao Le

Collaborators
Structural Engineer: Silman
Landscape Architect: Let It Grow
Civil Engineer: AKRF

Located on a narrow peninsula on Candlewood Lake in Western Connecticut, we designed this family house to provide a direct relationship with the lakeside landscape and a platform to experience space and nature. Defined by cantilevered horizontal roof planes that cascade down the steep site towards the water, the home is constructed primarily from site-cast concrete, allowing for large, uninterrupted glass openings that enhance the connection to nature. Programmatically, a lush interior courtyard separates the public space from private areas, while a rooftop garden softens and blurs the modern, geometric home into the lakeside landscape.

The preservation of a large, old oak tree informs the new home’s orientation, as does the lot’s steep grade towards the lake. Responding to these constraints, we established a defining language of stepped planes that descend towards the lake and break up the volume of the house, avoiding a sheer three-story wall. Resulting roof planes extend over lower levels, providing solar shade for floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, while also creating tiered outdoor terraces on each floor. The garage remains submerged into the grade, further minimizing mass. Local limestone base walls and bluestone pavers ground the home in native and natural materials, while a live green roof blends the structure into the surrounding treetops. Floor-to-ceiling glazing flanks the front door, which leads directly to the entryway courtyard and ornamental Japanese Maple tree within.

Materially, facade walls are clad in vertical slatted thermally modified, sustainable pine in custom profile planks, with charred cypress for the roof planes and soffits.

On the main level, public spaces are situated to the left of the entry and interior courtyard while private spaces (two bedrooms and baths) are situated to the right. A large living room leads into an open dining room/kitchen, with all spaces oriented towards floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors facing the outdoor terrace and lake beyond. This interior common area is both divided and anchored by a rectilinear gray marble fireplace that creates the simultaneous experience of the fireplace and lake view from multiple rooms and vantage points.

Accessed behind the living room, floating cantilevered stair treads lead to the second floor. Upstairs, a large suite incorporates a primary bedroom with corner glazing, primary bath, study, bedroom terrace, and roof garden. Sustainable and green strategies bolster the design throughout with a fully planted green roof that regulates the temperature of the home and all rain run-off directed to a detention rain garden on site.