Front façade of modern, cedar-clad, bar-shaped house with front entry cutout, a large glazed span and a deconstructed end.
Rear patio with stacked stone fireplace and a view of the backyard with dog, infinity pool and Berkshires in the distance.
Open plan living room, dining room and kitchen with floor to ceiling glass doors to backyard and modern furnishings.
Open plan dining room and kitchen with smoked glass table and red chairs, gold antler chandelier and white lacquer kitchen.
nterior corridor with white walls, cedar ceiling, concrete floor, black and white cowhide bench and polo equipment on wall. Modern bathroom with weeping willow wall mural, white lacquer vanity, white soaking tub, wood stool and concrete floor.
Bedroom with stone wall, fireplace, blue and white art, cedar ceiling, white walls, concrete floor and bed with velvet cover.
Exterior corner of cedar house with glass-walled bathroom, back patio with firepit, dog and pool and view of the Berkshires.

THIS 2,400 SQUARE FOOT BAR-SHAPED HOUSE, LOCATED IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, WAS CONSTRUCTED ON A TEN-ACRE LOT BETWEEN THE CATSKILL AND BERKSHIRE MOUNTAINS. FROM THE ENTRY FAÇADE THE RESIDENCE READS AS A GRAPHIC CEDAR BLOCK WITH THREE INTERRUPTIONS. THE FIRST IS THE PUNCHED BLANK ENTRANCE WHICH APPEARS TO LEAD NOWHERE SINCE THE DOOR IS LOCATED TO ONE SIDE; THE SECOND IS A LARGE GLAZED SPAN THAT DEFINES THE PUBLIC SPACES AND PIERCES THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE, MAKING THE HOME “TRANSPARENT” AT THIS POINT; THE LAST IS THE DECONSTRUCTED END OF THE HOUSE WHERE THE PRIMARY BATH IS LOCATED.

ON THE BACK – INFORMAL SIDE, THE OVERHANG IS DEEPER, OPENING UP THE HOUSE’S INTERIOR TO THE DRAMATIC VIEWS OF THE BERKSHIRES TO THE EAST. A LARGE, DRY-STACK, LOCAL STONE PARTITION INTERSECTS THE STRUCTURE, CONTAINING TWO INTERIOR FIREPLACES AND ANOTHER “SEE-THROUGH” ONE OUTDOORS. THE CEDAR CLADDING OF THE HOUSE’S EXTERIOR CONTINUES ACROSS THE CEILING OF THE INTERIOR PUBLIC AREAS AND THE PRIMARY SUITE, REINFORCING THE VOLUMETRIC PURITY OF THE SPACE AS WELL AS THE INTERIOR-EXTERIOR CONNECTIONS. CUSTOM HEIGHT FLOOR TO CEILING GLASS PANELS CREATE TRANSPARENT WALLS THROUGHOUT, OPENING THE INDOORS TO THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE.

IN DESIGNING A HOUSE WITH ENERGY-EFFICIENCY IN MIND, A RADIANT HEATING SYSTEM WAS BUILT INTO THE FLOOR, SANDWICHED UNDERNEATH THE EXPOSED CONCRETE SLABS. ON THE ROOF, 32 PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS ARE CONCEALED BEHIND A PARAPET, WHICH ALONG WITH THE GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM ALLOW FOR THE HOUSE TO RUN NEARLY “OFF THE GRID”. AN INFINITY EDGE LAP POOL SITS WITHIN AN ISLAND PATIO ON THE PRIVATE SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, FURTHER ILLUSTRATING THE HOUSE’S MODERN SENSIBILITY AND SIMPLE AND OPEN PLAN.

PHOTOS: ANTHONY COTSIFAS (FIRST IMAGE); FRANCOIS DISCHINGER