Rockport Residence

Rockport, MA

VIEW FROM MAIN STREET GATE TO PORCH AND OCEAN.jpg

VIEW FROM OCEAN SEATING TOWARDS MAIN STREET.jpg

VIEW FROM DINING ROOM TO MASHRABIYA SCREEN AND STAIR.jpg

VIEW FROM KITCHEN THROUGH STAIR TO OFFICE.jpg

VIEW TO UPPER LEVEL DRESSING ROOM, ATRIUM AND MAIN STREET.jpg

VIEW FROM LIBRARY TO DRESSING ROOM, ATRIUM AND OCEAN.jpg

VIEW FROM BEDROOM TOWARDS ATRIUM AND MAIN STREET.jpg

VIEW FROM DRESSING ROOM STAIRS TO ROOF TERRACE.jpg

This project has been awarded an Honorable Mention In Architect's Newspaper 2019 BEST OF DESIGN AWARDS. Category : Best Unbuilt Interior

Rockport Residence Project Description

The civically-important historic building is located on Main Street, at the intersection of the Town Green + the footpath to the Public Beach/Atlantic Ocean.

It will be renovated + function as an urban residence.

The Greek Revival, granite structure originally housed a bank and had an uncompromised expression of order + stability, now lost through successive renovations over the last century. Our intention is to construct a meaningful discourse between the restored, historic artifact, the new interior + the landscapes of the Town + the Ocean.

Remembering the scale of the original double-height bank while accommodating the more-intimate, domestic program, a checkerboard of double + single-height volumes organizes the new interior. This geometric matrix was developed using the historic enclosure’s structural + fenestration systems, reconciling the order of the existing with the new interior. Within this ‘plan of volumes’ an asymmetrically-disposed, skylit atrium unites the rituals of the home with the sky overhead + the presence of the ocean-horizon.

To construct boundaries within the home, wooden furniture + millwork elements have been disposed within the double-height enclosure. These ‘lightweight’ elements, juxtaposed in weight + material to the polychromos plastered enclosure, include cabinetry, bookcases, seating + desks as well as light-filtering oak screens (mashrabiya). The inhabited furniture + screens provide visual privacy between spaces while producing transparency + cross-ventilation throughout the home.

As important historic elements, the windows of the enclosure were architecturally ‘elaborated upon’, built as furnished places to be inhabited and to negotiate the interior with the world outside. As such, they function to inform the programming of the interior as it frames and meanders from street to ocean.

The design employs passive + active environmental strategies. The interior palette includes: Organic Polychromos Plaster; Oak Screens; Recycled Terrazzo Flooring + Radiant Floor Heating; Mahogany Windows + Doors; Reclaimed Oak Millwork.

Design Team:

Architecture

musumanoco Project Team

Kevin Musumano, Kristopher Musumano, Chen Xia, Juan de Loera

musumanoco llc.

535 Albany street, #412; Boston, MA 02118 ph: 857.305.8900 email: info@musumanoco.com website: www.musumanoco.com

Landscape Design

Jonathan Keep Landscape Design

PO Box 86; Lincoln, MA 01773 ph: 781.259.0240 email: info@jonathankeep.com website: www.jonathankeep.com

Lighting Design

Lumenarch Project Team

Nelson Jenkins, Patricia Vallejo

Lumenarch

108 East 16th Street, 6th Floor; New York, NY 10003 ph: 212.564.6469 email: info@lumenarch.com website: www.lumenarch.com

Structural Engineer

McBrie, LLC.

160 Sylvan Street; Danvers, MA 01923 ph: 978.646.0097 website: www.mcbrie.com

Organic Plasterer

Van Gerven Plastering

81 Wareham Street, Lower level; Boston, MA 02118 ph: 617.312.1633 email : vvg52@me.com

Custom Mashrabiya Screens

Kenyon Woodworking

179 Boylston street; Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 ph: 617.524.6883 website: kenyonwoodworking.com