Program: A two-story, 15,232-square-foot town hall with a conference room for the Town Board, public meeting space, and offices for the town supervisor, board members, and support staff. The town hall consists of four timber-frame structures'two houses and two barns'from the 18th and 19th centuries. The buildings, which were moved from another site in East Hampton, are the former residence of a couple who donated them to the town.
Design concept and solution: Modeling the town hall on an 18th-century arrangement of farmhouses and outbuildings, Robert A.M. Stern Architects organized the structures into a compact quadrangle. The two two-story houses (now offices) face each other, flanked by the two single-story barns, which have become the public meeting spaces. The architects wanted to preserve the individual character of the structures while uniting them as a single entity. Without making any changes to the appearance of the exteriors'all of which are clad in Atlantic white cedar shingles'they connected all four with a conservatory-style glass lobby that zigzags across the quad. Sunlight filters through the glazed roof into the lobby's internal stairway, which leads to basement-level offices. The architects used brick for the lobby floor and finished the back wall of the stair with stone reclaimed from a foundation on the donors' property. The two barns are double-height spaces with exposed wood beams and roof timbers. Originally the barns lacked floors; their current pine flooring was added in the 1970s.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.