Anmahian Winton Architects

Blue Rock House

Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger
Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger

BLUE ROCK HOUSE

Anmahian Winton Architects

ARCHITECTS
Anmahian Winton Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jane Messinger

AREA
7000.0 ft2

YEAR 
2008

LOCATION
Austerlitz, United States

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

A new house, guesthouse, and garage form a community of buildings on a rural hilltop site, evoking a rural homestead.

Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger
Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger

The buildings define a formal courtyard that opens to specific views of the Berkshire and Catskill Mountains.

Copper, wood, and bluestone are the primary materials, deployed to affect a minimal and sculptural vocabulary.

Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger
Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger

The buildings are embedded to varying degree within the rocky topography, and bluestone walls weave between architecture and landscape to reinforce their integration.

The project is guided by sustainable design goals to conserve energy and water, to restore the site to its natural state, and to integrate mechanical systems that take best advantage of the project locale.

Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger
Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger

Wind turbines will produce enough electricity for daily operation of the house, and a geothermal well will greatly reduce reliance on fossil fuels, including those which would normally be used to heat the pool and spa.

The buildings are insulated with high performance, bio-based foam insulation, and finish material selection is guided by analysis of location, embodied energy cost, and life/recycling considerations.

Blue Rock House
© Jane Messinger


Blue Rock House
floor plans 01
Blue Rock House
floor plans 02
Blue Rock House
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Blue Rock House
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Blue Rock House
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Blue Rock House
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Anmahian Winton Architects
T +1 617 5777400
Anmahian Winton Architects
650 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02141, United States