PROJECT Home on the Intracoastal Waterway
LOCATION Rehoboth, Delaware, US
PROJECT COMPLETION DATE 1/8/2016
ARCHITECT Gardner Mohr Architects LLC
ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT
OWNER/CLIENT Confidential Client
CONTRACTOR / CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Beachwood, Inc.
PHOTOGRAPHER John Cole
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM Principal-in-Charge: Amy E. Gardner FAIA LEED-AP, Senior Project Architect: Brittany L. Williams AIA LEED-AP
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
The Intracoastal Waterway runs along the east coast of the United States, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and comprising many kinds of waterways. This project sits on one of those waterways – the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal – in a wooded beach neighborhood and facing perennial wetlands. The design agenda called for a sensitive response to climate and site. The house is sited to maximize views to the canal and wetlands, simultaneously providing a variety of protected and shaded exterior spaces. The form of the house is split by a glazed entry foyer, offering views along a continuous boardwalk from the streetside through the foyer to the canal and marsh. Creating a shaded place, saving all the trees on site, capturing yet protected from sun and breeze, maximizing views, creating habitat – these are some of the project’s sustainable strategies employed to decrease energy demand and enhance building-site synergies. The project focuses on passive sustainable strategies in order to decrease energy demands and burden on the local utilities. By creating a highly insulated building envelope and employing an energy recovery ventilator, and a geothermal heat pump, energy costs are minimized. Carefully positioned operable windows and skylights, including in the open, gabled stairway, allow for natural ventilation and take advantage of the stack effect. The strategic location of shading devices – exterior solar shades and a trellis – rounds out the suite of passive approaches. The home is a home for the beach, not a suburban home transplanted to the beach. The design recalls the traditions of the cabins that used to comprise this community. The heart of the home is where the towels are! Spaces for circulation, gathering, and chance encounters of the extended family and friends who gather and hang about the inside and outsides spaces. The kitchen bridges the interior and exterior, linking a porch with the living and dining areas. Materials are matter of fact, rough-hewn, utilitarian. A home for the grill, kayaks, laundry, outdoor showers, and beach storage were as important as spaces for sleeping, eating, hanging out.
MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project PDF
IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS
IMAGE 1 01_Home on the Intracoastal Waterway_highres ext.jpg, View of the courtyard from the canal. Photographer: John Cole
IMAGE 2 02_Home on the Intracoastal Waterway_highres int.jpg, Views across the Master Suite include glimpses of the "bunkhouse" wing. Photographer: John Cole
IMAGE 3 03_4lg.jpg, View across island deck and terraced wetland courtyard to bunkhouse. Photographer: John Cole
IMAGE 4 04_35lg.jpg. View of second floor main wing details. Photog: John Cole
IMAGE 5 05_1425lg_AEG-BLWflat.jpg. View across the front shell-lined court to the canal. Photog: John Cole
IMAGE 6 06_1526lg.jpg. Exterior elements include a screen porch, a deck that follows the perimeter of the courtyard, and an island deck that sits among marsh grasses and shrubs, shaded by the preserved existing trees. Photog: John Cole
IMAGE 7 07_26lg.jpg. The main wing living, dining, kitchen and porch areas form the central indoor gathering place of the home, with direct access to the courtyard and panoramic views of the wetlands. Photog: John Cole
IMAGE 8 08_20lg.jpg. Living, dining, kitchen and porch are joined to the upstairs via a steel, oak, and machiche open tread stair. Photog John Cole
Home on the Intracoastal Waterway
Category
State > AIA Maryland > Residential Architecture (Single & Multi-Family) (AIA Maryland)
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