reflections

A local developer-builder approached us to design concepts for a speculative house that was a modern take on local styles. We took as inspiration the pre-colonial Dutch Gable style found mostly on early American farms and estates. Our research was focused on the design origins of the Dutch gable. Specifically, that the masonry hearth served as the organizing element of the entire house. Then we explored how over time post-modern and contemporary thinking informed and transformed the Dutch Gable style. With this history in mind, we designed around the classic stonework gable bookends and sought to also reinvent it.