Prefab vacation home in New York wins AIA NY State 2010 Merit Award

Published: 31-Aug-2010

A modular prefab vacation home in Montauk, New York, designed by Long Island-based Bates Masi Architects, has won an American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York (NY) State 2010 Merit Award.

The prefab home was conceived as an upscale tent in the woods with large floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. The home features multiple sliding glass doors that retract into the wall to open the whole house to the outdoors. This enables the residents to enjoy the outside weather all the time. In summers, doors can be opened to let the cool breeze inside while in winters, the glass doors work as a geothermal heating and cooling system. Bronzed metal sunscreens slide to allow varying levels of sunlight for unique living experiences.

Daylight infiltrates the house through the glass doors. Bronze mesh is used extensively to provide shading. The exterior of the prefab home is clad in cedar and prefab concrete panels, while the interior walnut floors are finished with non-toxic vegetable oil. To protect the site during construction, most of the home was prefabricated in sections and then assembled on site. The exterior landscaping was finished with grasses, wildflowers and local rock.

A guest bedroom on the first floor features its own private entrance. The staircase in the centre of the house is also encapsulated in bronze mesh. The house also features a host of sustainable elements such as prefabricated construction, daylighting, geothermal heating and cooling, solar heating and organic finishes.

The house was honoured with AIA New York State Design Awards in the Residential Small Project Category. Awards will be presented on 15 October 2010 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center at the annual AIA New York State Convention.

AIA NY State 2010 Awards Program recognizes outstanding architectural design by New York City architects and for work in New York City. The purpose of the awards program is to honour the architects, clients, and consultants who work together to achieve design excellence. Competition for this award is open to architects registered in the State of New York with projects located around the world.

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