Winner: Hobbs, Inc.
So methodical was the architectural team, headed by Mark Finlay, for this Litchfield County house that when the site was cleared, the builder, Hobbs, Inc., began work with great confidence. “By the time we started construction, almost every decision had already been made,” recalls Ian Hobbs, the company’s vice president. “So, it came down to us executing the plan and achieving the level of finish to satisfy the owners and Mark’s expectations.” Indeed, Hobbs and his team were undaunted by the large scale of this house, plus the several ancillary structures to be placed on the site, simply because the planning process had been so thorough. “The real key to the house’s beauty is the proportions,” says Hobbs, “and while it’s large, it doesn’t feel large because its proportions are perfect.” Among the earliest directives to which the Hobbs teams responded was to fulfill the owners’ wish for “very high-quality finishes. We were able to put together a team of artisans from a wide geographic area to achieve exactly the quality they wanted for every room.”
Finalist: Kerschner Development
Bryan Kerschner is used to building high-end spec houses throughout Connecticut—projects he says are rewarding but also somewhat predictable in their design. Of this Modern Farmhouse-style residence, though, designed by architect Bruce Beinfield, Kerschner says: “This house is unique, there’s nothing like it anywhere else, and so that made it an especially fun project to do since we had to follow a different course than usual. I think I can say that I’ll never be able to build something as special as this ever again—unless, of course, Bruce designs something new that’s equally different.” Of the many construction challenges the house presented, the most difficult one to solve was the three-story open staircase. “We had to build an open plan, custom steel and wood fabricated stairway rising three floors,” says Kerschner, who is the third generation Kerschner to head his family’s Norwalk-based firm. “The finished result is such a cool feature of the house. Elsewhere, we used all sorts of new things, new products, new techniques. It makes sense that this house won an IDA.”
Finalist: John Desmond Builders
“The single biggest challenge was the topography,” says George Desmond of Southport-based John Desmond Builders, founded by his namesake father some 60 years ago. Desmond is referring to the steep waterfront site on the Saugatuck River and the difficulty of aligning two separate structures—a former boathouse turned residence and a stone barn—set on differing grades, which then involved linking them with a glass bridge. Apart from taming natural topography, the Desmond team had to respond to the sheer size of the structures and their elements. “The fireplace was composed of large rocks, the beams throughout were extra large, and while a lot of different things were presented to us, we all collaborated well—the architect [Cardello Architects], the landscape architect [Wesley Stout Associates] and our team.” Unlike other projects Desmond has built, for this one, his company was in charge of the entire site—the two structures, the terracing that leads to the waterfront, a floating staircase along the outside site, the grading. “Thing is, we all figured out how to make this house work so well.”
