A Relaxing Weekend Escape in the Adirondacks
When husband and wife retired Metropolitan Opera performers sought to create a relaxing weekend escape in the Adirondacks they looked to PJCArchitecture, whose founder they had previously worked with both at the Opera and on the renovation of their former Upper West Side Manhattan home.
The former opera singer and professional dancer came to the project with deep-seated sensitivity to the arts and an appreciation for materiality and form. Both had strong visions for the aesthetics of the home, with the husband favoring clean lines with the simple detailing of a Japanese Tea House and the wife seeking a cottage feel with articulated details reminiscent of the home in “On Golden Pond.”
Outside, a custom-made flagpole honors both the husband and wife’s fathers, who served in the military.
PJCA worked diligently to mediate these conflicting visions, gathering imagery from both concepts and establishing methods of merging elements of both. They ultimately decided to clad the house in “Shou Sugi Ban,” an eco-friendly, charred wood siding that the couple had experienced in their travels to Japan. The material helps the house cohere with its surroundings and maintain clean lines.
Clean moldings around large linear windows and doors pair with a metal roof to add to this aesthetic, while the wife’s desired cottage aesthetic comes to life in the interiors. The design of the home nods to the vernacular architecture of the Adirondacks—pitched roofs, wood siding, and stone walls—while providing a fresh take to the familiar forms and materials.
The structure serves as an additional bedroom, guest house, or simply a peaceful studio to facilitate a retreat into the beauty of the surrounding nature. In seasons when the lake is high, the boathouse is completely surrounded by water, creating the sense of being on a boat.
In collaboration with Winchip Engineering, Walter’s Construction, GB Construction, J Moore Construction, and Blue Line Electrical, PJCA delivered an artistic and spiritual getaway that harmonizes with its natural context.
