Shelter Island House

2024 Residential Design Award Citation Recipient

The design of a weekend family retreat, located on Shelter Island, NY, responds to the wistful coastal location with a deeply textured post-and-beam house that slips into the landscape. The family’s wishlist – shaded and screened decks, an outdoor shower, big fireplaces, and good natural ventilation – made perfect sense given the hot, humid, and often buggy summers and snowy, blustery winters. The form and siting grew from the program, thinking about everyday ease, providing shade, and, most importantly, foregrounding the natural beauty of the setting.

Design expression emerged from application of site-specific passive strategies, beginning with the beamed hovering porch which extends inside and out some 30 feet – shading in the summer and welcoming low winter sun. To the south, a double row of supporting posts set up a social edge oriented to the view while tight spacing adds a sense of protection in an exposed location.

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The jury appreciated the rigorous structural model – post and beam approach – that really carries through sets up light-filled interior spaces; really well done overall. Its focus on sustainability, its restraint and modestness are appreciated.

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Measure 1: Design for Integration

The house touches the earth lightly to preserve the beauty of the setting and responds to climate with a well insulated building envelope; coupled with passive and active strategies (including a 20KW PV array). The compact design, forgoing a garage and choice of wood for framing and cladding inside and out reduces the carbon footprint.
The house is built well above the FEMA floodline minimum to reduce risk of flooding. Both well water (no town supply available) and septic system were selected to minimize impact and water filtration, double plumbing lines (see Measure 9), operable windows, ceiling fans, radiant heat and a dehumidifier provide healthful, resource conscious ways to maximize comfort in summer and winter.
The biggest risks in this location are intermittent power supply and flooding with run on potential for contamination of onsite well water. A gas powered emergency generator assists in this task and the double plumbing facilitates the ability to introduce a second water source. Battery storage (planned for the future) can take the project off the grid (PV array produces more electricity than needed) and also eliminates the need for use of the gas powered emergency generator.

Measure 2: Design for Equitable Communities

A house comes with its own community dynamics. In this compact house shared social space is the framework for inhabitation. The large outdoor porch supplements indoor social space to accommodate choice and opportunities for multiple simultaneous activities.

Measure 3: Design for Ecosystems

We nestled the house in the trees where an unsalvageable cottage (rot and subfloor drainage issues) had stood and made only subtle changes to the landscape to improve drainage, protect from flooding, and create an edge to the property to increase privacy without adding fences. Cars are kept at the gate and well back from the house. Added native shrubs and a grove of crepe myrtles further filter views between house and street. A new tree replaces the one lost on the west and will soon be large enough to shade the entry.

Measure 4: Design for Water

A construction cost of $950SF for a new house on the Island is relatively low. Working against the economy in this location is the need for all materials to be shipped in and a limited local labor pool. Septic tanks, securing well water and its purification also impact costs. The owner wanted a modern wood house and our Contractor was eager to join the team if we truly stuck to wood. His craftsmanship elevated our ability for customization providing incredible value for the budget- examples include the rainscreen and wood custom-framed window walls.

Measure 5: Design for Economy

Eliminating the vast majority of the parking requirement translated into multiple opportunities to economize the fit of the building and increase positive amenities. The building program would fit comfortably within a three story building which also allows for a single stair core. Three stories also falls within a construction type (stick framed type V at grade) that is more cost effective. It also allows relatively large floor areas for the dwelling units to have both more bedrooms and larger outdoor private decks.

Measure 6: Design for Energy

A well insulated envelope with wood rain screen and 20KW roof mounted PV system offset energy use for the home. Kept at a baseline humidity and temperature year round, the house is occupied about a third of the time. The project is only using about 5,000 of the 15,000 kWh of PV energy generated. Battery storage (future) can take the project off the grid and eliminate the need for use of the propane emergency generator. Notable passive design strategies include orientation to maximize winter sun and minimize summer sun, a deep porch overhang, clerestory daylighting, and operable ventilation.

Measure 7: Design for Well-Being

Well-being in this bucolic setting is enhanced by minimizing the built impact (for example, there is no enclosed garage), preserving the landscape, and use of passive environmental strategies including building orientation, seasonal shade, large shaded decks, abundant daylight and cross ventilation (supplemented by fans indoor and out). Radiant floor heating and whole house air filtration system keeps dust and other allergens down while a whole-house humidifier keeps humidity comfortable year round and limits likelihood of mold growth.

Measure 8: Design for Resources

The house uses a wood structural system and wood surfaces inside and out limiting embodied energy utilization. Nevertheless it was built during COVID-19 and the supply chain issues severely impacted availability of materials, particularly lumber, and we were unable to verify sourcing of all cedar. Exterior wood surfaces are left unfinished to age naturally to limit the need for resources to be used for ongoing upkeep of the exterior in a harsh seaside location.
Use of uncoated brass plumbing fixtures and non-vitreous clay tiles eliminate some toxic/ high energy processes.

Measure 9: Design for Change

The house is set above the FEMA floodline minimum by a few feet and includes a secondary measure should the well be contaminated by flooding. In that case, an extra storage tank and the second of the double supply lines, mentioned earlier under Measure 4, can be used to tap into rainwater and/or allow immediate ability to use trucked in water.

Measure 10: Design for Discovery

We had worked with the owner’s before so understood their interests and continue to work with them in other locations. Bringing the contractor onboard during design informed the use of timber to achieve sustainability and economic goals. There were the usual kinds of issues to resolve at move-in but they were easily resolved A post-occupancy evaluation was not conducted, however continued communication with the client has allowed for ongoing feedback to be shared. We have heard that previously anxious neighbors are pleased with the minimal impact on the setting.