Houses of Maine: Elliott + Elliott Architecture by Elizabeth & Matthew Elliot - Princeton

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House on the Barrens

The building’s form and general layout are derived from

organized around the linear procession defined by these

the agrarian vernacular construction of Maine. The owners’

connectors. The main common spaces open up into one

admiration for the state’s farmhouses, barns, woodsheds,

another and expand to the outdoors; the more private

and even chicken coops provided inspiration for the

spaces remain self-contained while still maintaining a

design, which includes a cohesive collection of discrete

relationship to the site. A horizontal aluminum curtain

programmatic elements, also directly rooted in local

wall system provides unobstructed panoramic views to

architectural traditions.

the landscape, while a terrace on the southwest corner

The remote location, through wild blueberry

engages the sloping field, which gives way to far-reaching

barrens and a secluded spruce forest, is defined by a

coastal island scenery.

large clearing in the woods. The corner of the clearing

A lichen-covered stone step marks a discreet

intersects with the edge of the tree line and transforms

opening in the spruce forest behind the house, where

into a sloping field interspersed with ledge. It is at the

rough-hewn wood planks designate a path to a fourth

overlap of these two conditions, along the seam between

building, an artist’s space. Along the trail, the studio

the forest and the field, that the main house is sited. Dark-

is gradually revealed through unexpected glimpses of

stained vertical board siding and a gray metal roof allow it

vibrant color. This element is the project’s most direct

to recede into the woods and maintain a low visual impact

reference to Maine’s agricultural precedent: a red barn.

on the landscape when viewed from afar. From high on

A New England archetype, the barn typically employed

the ridge, long panoramic views across the field and over

red paint because ferric oxide acts as a preservative,

Eggemoggin Reach reveal the islands of the coast.

increasing the lifespan of the building. Refusing to merge

The house is an assembly of three distinct gabled

with the landscape (unlike the structures of the main

volumes joined by low flat-roofed connectors that

house), the studio revels in its iconographic form: simple

serve as points of entry and circulation. Interiors are

and unadorned.

The typical arrangement of the connected farm is commonly referred to as big house, little house, back house, barn, as described in a ninetenth-century children’s verse.

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HOUSE ON THE BARRENS

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HOUSE ON THE BARRENS

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25′

GROUND FLOOR

1 deck

2

master bath

3

master bedroom

4 study 5 gallery 6 living 7 terrace 8 dining 9 kitchen 10 entry 11 bathroom

3

12 bedroom 13 laundry

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1 2

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HOUSE ON THE BARRENS

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