Hidden House by GOA

Greenwich, Connecticut

By RECORD Editors

Architects & Firms

GOA Architecture

Location: Greenwich, Connecticut
Project size: 7,000 square feet

Program: Nestled into a hidden valley in southwest Connecticut and perched above a brook, a midcentury house with a distinctive flared roof, originally designed by Jurgen Edward Luders of Luders & Associates, needed a full architectural, construction, and environmental update. GOA led this transformation for a couple with three small children, aiming to enhance the original volumes, open the house to its sylvan setting, reuse existing materials to the greatest extent possible, and update the building for 21st-century living.

Design Solution: The family wanted to maintain the house’s special relationship to the brook and surrounding forest, and GOA capitalized on its remarkable setting by creating a sequence of indoor and outdoor spaces woven into nature. For example, floating decks extend an enfilade of rooms, offering residents an elevated (in two senses of the word) entry sequence. The gut renovation also included improvements to the enclosure—including new high-performance windows as well as walls and a roof insulated with spray foam and mineral wool; a high-efficiency boiler; a plan configuration that enhances airflow and circulation; new interior finishes and cabinetry aligned with maintaining the eclectic modernism of the original house.

Photo © Jasper Lazor

Structure and Materials: GOA reused existing floor and roof framing where possible, and added new timber framing and columns to accommodate the revised plan. Hemlock with a solid stain clads the exterior. Interior floors and select walls are lined with white oak planks, while the lower level features polished concrete underfoot.

Additional Information
Completion date: September 2023
Site size: 7 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Withheld

Photos © Jasper Lazor

Drawings courtesy GOA, click to enlarge

Credits

Architect
GOA
35 Crown Street
New Haven, CT 06510
203-777-7794
goaarchitecture.com

Project Team
Lisa Gray, Alan Organschi, principals and partners; Parker Lee, design director; Sonya Ursell, project architect; Ellen Kebabian, interior designer

Interior designer: GOA

Engineers:
Structural: Odeh Engineers
Civil/Surveyor: Rocco V D'Andrea

General Contractor
Hobbs Care

Photographer
Jasper Lazor

Specifications

Exterior Cladding
Metal/glass curtain wall: UNILUX
Wood: Stained Western Hemlock

Roofing
Built-up roofing: EPD/Asphalt Shingles

Windows
Wood frame: UNILUX

Glazing
Glass: UNILUX Doors
Wood doors: Custom doors by Hobbs Care

Hardware
Locksets: Accurate Lock & Hardware, Omnia
Pulls: HAWA, Assa Abbloy

Interior Finishes
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Hobbs Care
Paints and stains: BM Chantilly Lace
Wall coverings: Elitis La Caravane, Elitis Margaritas, Bien Fait
Floor and wall tile: Waterworks, Artistic Tile, Alchemy Materials, Lunada Bay Tile, Elements 4 Design, Popham Design
Carpet: Stark, Kebabian’s, Crosby Street, Woven

Furnishings
Reception furniture: FAIR
Upholstery: Norton Upholstering

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: 3G
Downlights: 3G
Tasklighting: Future Perfect, Lindsey Adelman, Roll and Hill, Luke Lamp Co,

Plumbing
Faucets: Dornbracht, Kohler
Showerheads: Dornbracht
Basins: The Galley
Tubs: Kohler
Toilets: Duravit