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Home » Genius Loci Beach House by Bates Masi + Architects
Record HousesResidential Architecture

Genius Loci Beach House by Bates Masi + Architects

Montauk, Long Island, New York

What appears to be two ranch houses is one wedge-shaped volume connected by a bridge on the upper level. The house is situated on a former horse ranch.

What appears to be two ranch houses is one wedge-shaped volume connected by a bridge on the upper level. The house is situated on a former horse ranch.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

The pool offers views out to Lake Montauk and the Atlantic beyond.

The pool offers views out to Lake Montauk and the Atlantic beyond.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

A bridge clad in tapered cedar boards connects public and private spaces, provides views, and maintains privacy.

A bridge clad in tapered cedar boards connects public and private spaces, provides views, and maintains privacy.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

On the lower level, a sculptural wood screen functions as a gallery wall and guardrail.

On the lower level, a sculptural wood screen functions as a gallery wall and guardrail.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

A set of bluestone bleacher steps beckons visitors when they arrive and awards them with views of the ocean.

A set of bluestone bleacher steps beckons visitors when they arrive and awards them with views of the ocean.>

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

A set of bluestone bleacher steps beckons visitors when they arrive and awards them with views of the ocean.

A set of bluestone bleacher steps beckons visitors when they arrive and awards them with views of the ocean.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Sliding glass doors allow bathers to enjoy breezes and views in the master bath. The architects were inspired by horseshoes when designing the blackened stainless steel shelving, which also appears in

Sliding glass doors allow bathers to enjoy breezes and views in the master bath. The architects were inspired by horseshoes when designing the blackened stainless steel shelving, which also appears in the kitchen.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

In the dining/living room, the off-center peak in the gabled roof'combined with floorboards that narrow toward the west'focus the view outside.

In the dining/living room, the off-center peak in the gabled roof—combined with floorboards that narrow toward the west—focus the view outside.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Pocket doors slide open to create a covered terrace. Rough-sawn oak, alluding to the property's previous life as a horse ranch, is seen throughout, including in the children's rooms and the master bed

Pocket doors slide open to create a covered terrace. Rough-sawn oak, alluding to the property's previous life as a horse ranch, is seen throughout, including in the children's rooms and the master bedroom.

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

Genius Loci

Photo © Michael Moran/OTTO

What appears to be two ranch houses is one wedge-shaped volume connected by a bridge on the upper level. The house is situated on a former horse ranch.
The pool offers views out to Lake Montauk and the Atlantic beyond.
A bridge clad in tapered cedar boards connects public and private spaces, provides views, and maintains privacy.
On the lower level, a sculptural wood screen functions as a gallery wall and guardrail.
A set of bluestone bleacher steps beckons visitors when they arrive and awards them with views of the ocean.
A set of bluestone bleacher steps beckons visitors when they arrive and awards them with views of the ocean.
Sliding glass doors allow bathers to enjoy breezes and views in the master bath. The architects were inspired by horseshoes when designing the blackened stainless steel shelving, which also appears in
In the dining/living room, the off-center peak in the gabled roof'combined with floorboards that narrow toward the west'focus the view outside.
Pocket doors slide open to create a covered terrace. Rough-sawn oak, alluding to the property's previous life as a horse ranch, is seen throughout, including in the children's rooms and the master bed
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
Genius Loci
April 16, 2012
Laura Raskin
KEYWORDS beach houses / Long Island / Montauk / New York
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Architects & Firms

Bates Masi Architects

 

The eastern end of Long Island, New York, is famous for Modern houses by Richard Meier, Charles Gwathmey, and Gordon Bunshaft, among others. Each of these architects designed odes to the summer vacation early in their careers, their experiments encouraged by affluent clients and dramatic views characteristic of the area. The East End has been a summer colony since the late-19th century when, notably, McKim, Mead & White were designing Shingle Style cottages here. Stanford White's Montauk Association houses, built in the 1880s according to a site plan by Frederick Law Olmsted, are one famous example.

Montauk, New York's easternmost town, remains the Hamptons' scruffier sister. Its strange mix of high and low combines motels, diners, and beach shacks with Andy Warhol's estate. Rick Scanlon and Alicia Zarou Scanlon, a businessman and art dealer who live in Singapore with their two children, liked this funky juxtaposition. After years of renting in Montauk, they purchased a roughly 3½-acre site on a hill with views of the Atlantic, Lake Montauk, and Gardiners Bay. Then they turned to Bates Masi Architects, a Sag Harbor–based firm, to design a house that would combine the weather-beaten vernacular with Modernism.

The result, which the architects dubbed Genius Loci, is modest on first glance: two cedar-shingled ranch houses connected by a bridge. “We didn't want to be the big house on the top of the hill,” says Paul Masi, one of the firm's principals along with Harry Bates. Neither did the clients. Instead, the 7,000-square-foot house hugs one side of the hill, and its luxuries, of which there are many, reveal themselves slowly.

What appears to be two ranches actually is one wedge-shaped steel and wood-framed volume. Public and private spaces are separated by a 40-foot-long bridge. On the upper level of the main house, the architects placed the kitchen, dining room, and living room in the narrow end of the wedge with views of a meadow leading to the water. They took the traditional gabled roof and set the ridge off-center to focus the view outside. This spatial trick is underscored by floorboards that narrow gradually toward the west.

Masi and his team sank the lower level into the hill for a garage, laundry room, and maid's room. These are connected by a long hallway to a gym, guest room, and playroom. Living on a hill makes privacy an issue when the summer is in full swing, says Masi. Copious glazing in the house is balanced by creative screening, such as the tapered cedar boards that clad the bridge and clerestory windows on the lower level.

Since the Scanlons host numerous guests and parties in the summer, the architects wanted to create moments of discovery, with multiple points of entry to the house and landscape. One of the most dramatic: the bluestone bleacher steps set into the hill underneath the bridge. The surprise reward after the climb up is an expansive view of the meadow and water. Alternatively, from the parking area, visitors can mount another set of stairs to an outdoor fireplace, patio, and entrance.

In designing Genius Loci, Masi and his team thought about what makes Montauk “unexpected,” a word he repeats often about the place and the house. “Montauk has a certain sense of drama to it,” he says, as well as different weather phenomena. “All of a sudden it's socked in with fog, while it's sunny in Amagansett a few miles west.” Masi, 40, grew up on Long Island, and his parents have owned a kit house with no insulation in Montauk since 1965. Bates, 85, spent 10 years with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill before establishing his own firm in New York City. He moved the firm to Southampton in 1980.

Masi worked for Richard Meier after college and began working for Bates while he was still at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He moved to Amagansett in 1998 to work for the firm full-time and became a partner in 2000. The firm's 10-person office focuses primarily on regional residential projects.

A rainy day didn't seem to temper Masi's enthusiasm for the town as he drove around the deserted marina in his sand-filled SUV, pointing out Ditch Plains, the scrappy beach famous for its surfing waves. “Besides choosing Bates Masi because of another house of theirs we saw, Paul is a local,” says Alicia Scanlon. “He'll put on his wetsuit on January 15 and go surfing. He gets it. He loves Montauk. I think that's ultimately why we chose the firm.” Scanlon, drawn back to Montauk because of her memories of childhood summers there, says, “The architects positioned the house so thoughtfully and cared about the views from all different angles and rooms. When I first walked into the house, I started to cry.”

Completion Date: July 2011

Size: 7,000 square feet

Total construction cost: Private

People

Owner: Rick and Alicia Scanlon

Architect
Bates Masi Architects
PO Box 510, 138 Main St
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
631.725.0229

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Project Team: Harry Bates, Paul Masi, (Registered Architects)
Katherine Dalene Weil, Antonio Rodriguez

Interior designer: Bates Masi Architects with Victoria Pryor and Alicia Scanlon

Engineer(s): Steven L. Maresca

Consultant(s):
Landscape: Bates Masi Architects

Lighting: Bates Masi Architects

General contractor: Davis Builders, Paul and Paulette Davis

Photographer(s):
Michael Moran/OTTO
718.237.8830

CAD system, project management, or other software used:
Graphisoft Archicad
Adobe Photoshop

 

 

Products

Structural system
Poured Concrete Foundation, Steel and Wood framing, engineered lumber

Exterior cladding
Masonry: Custom fabricated bluestone

Metal Panels: Custom fabricated blackened stainless steel metalwork

Rainscreen: (under overhangs) Benjamin Obdyke Homeslicker under White Oak Siding

Wood: Patinaed White Oak shiplap siding-Old American Lumber, Western Red Cedar Shake siding

Moisture barrier: Grace Construction Products

Roofing
Elastomeric: EPDM at flat roof locations

Tile/shingles: Western Red Cedar Shake siding

Windows
Metal frame: Arcadia, Kawneer

Glazing
Glass: Clear Pilkington Low E insulated

Doors
Entrances/Metal doors: Kawneer

Sliding doors: Arcadia

Hardware
Locksets: Emtek

Closers: LCN

Pulls: integrated cabinet pulls

Interior finishes
Ceilings: Patinaed White Oak shiplap siding

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Custom Cabinetry Ciuffo Cabinetry

Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore

Solid surfacing: Corian countertops w/ integrated sinks

Special surfacing: Stainless Steel countertops w/ integrated sinks

Floor and wall tile: Ann Sacks-Kids Bath, Guest Rooms, Gym Bath.  Stone Source in Master Bathroom

Special interior finishes unique to this project: Wood flooring- white oak

Furnishings
Custom Built-in Furniture: Bates Masi Architects

Art: Raphael Mazzucco, Walter Iooss

Outdoor Furniture: Paola Lenti through Karkula, Tucci/Walters Wicker umbrellas

Interior Furniture:
Living Room Couch: De La Espada
Dining and counter chairs: Mark Albrecht/SUITE New York
Kids Beds: Duc Duc
Master Chairs: PK22 Paul Kjaerholm Easy Chair
Living room chairs, counter stools: Bassam Fellows/SUITE New York
Dining Table: Desiron
Rugs and guest room furniture: Room & Board,
Backsplash and Hanging shelves: Custom Design-Bates Masi + Architects

Upholstery: Elizabeth Dow at custom built-in couch

Lighting
Interior ambient lightin/Downlights: RAB, Lamar Lighting, Se’Lux, Circa Antiques, Brass Light, Ingo Maurer, Edge Lighting

Ceiling Fans: Modern Fan Co

Exterior: Vista Pro, B-K, Weaver & Ducre, Wagner

Dimming System or other lighting controls: Lutron, Savant home automation

Plumbing
Toilets: Toto dual flush
Faucets: Kallista, Hansgrohe
Kitchen sinks: Franke
Bathroom sinks: Custom Fabricated Corian Sinks
Tubs: Zuma and Signature Hardware

Energy
Energy management or building automation system: Savant home automation

Photovoltaic system: Ground Mount to be installed

Other unique products that contribute to sustainability:
Geothermal

 

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