The 2015 HC&G Innovation in Design Winners: Architecture

This North Haven compound’s guesthouse, main house, and pool house are sited so that each structure remains in view of the others.

Judge Paul Goldberger cites the property’s “simple materials” as “a welcome change from an avalanche of shingles. I like the allusions to barns and the almost funky quality of this.”

The structure, scaled in proportion to the adjacent pool, is anchored by a luxurious bathroom and floor-to-ceiling curtains that blur the distinction between indoors and out. “I would love to have this at my home!” raves judge Kim Seybert.

Built for a residence in Amagansett, this 400-square-foot cedar-shingled pool house functions as a kind of spa, complete with a sunken, romantic lounge area centered on a dark-steel fireplace.

Although this site on freshwater wetlands and a tidal estuary is inspiring, the demands for building on it were environmentally challenging. Local zoning stipulated that the one-story house be raised eight feet above the ground and limited to 1,900 square feet. The solution? The architects set the home on exposed piles, which resulted in a natural progression of light-filled rooms above and space for a carport and Zen-like retreat below. Judge Mario Nievera says its “context, strength, and shape combine to create a strong sculptural form.”

Difficult to characterize, but in a good way, this house in Water Mill combines elements of traditional British Georgian and Tudor buildings with the decidedly clean lines of American Colonial architecture. By Appointment simply calls its finished design a Modern Manor House, traditional in form from the outside, but thoroughly state-of-the-art inside. Mario Nievera describes it as “a lovely residence with a great hierarchy of masses,” while judge Madeline Weinrib is captivated by its “beautiful, clean lines.”

A standard housing layout is upended in this Amagansett project, which features three “spokes” and three yards, rather than just front and back yards. What judge Paul Goldberger characterizes as “real innovation, at no cost to comfort and practicality” results in a house with definition. A living wing, kitchen wing, and garage define the ground level; a guest area and bedroom wings make up the second floor; and an inviting sun deck/amphitheater takes center stage, serving as a gathering place.