Winner: Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
The Bauhaus appears to have arrived in the Hamptons, as each of this year’s judges noted while they were considering this entry, dubbed “Light House.” From the outside, freestanding intersecting white and black walls, coupled with cantilevered elements, work in tandem to foster a bold geometric statement, while inside, elegant, minimal forms are positioned to embrace and underscore the site’s breathtaking water views. Judge Bryan Young describes this residence as “a new typology to emerge within Hamptons modernism,” while judge T. R. Pescod decrees it “a monolithic homage to the Bauhaus.” As for judge Joan Michaels, it’s simply “a visual sculpture.”
Runner-Up: BMA Architects
The house as statement piece, both inside and out—yet designed for easy-breezy summer living. Judges Melanie Roy and T. R. Pescod both recalled Piet Mondrian, noted for his precise, yet animated and unpredictable geometric compositions. Though notable for its vast expanses of glass, the house is wood frame, sheathed in a dark brise-soleil that works to unify its three wings, anchored on the rear elevation with a solid volume clad in handsome cedar. The sinuous, sculptural main staircase, positioned beside a floor-to-ceiling window and constructed from concrete, is a work of art in itself—a “jaw-dropping” detail, says judge Joan Michaels.
Finalist: Bates Masi + Architects
Two simply articulated shingled cottages appear to work together as a wholly new form, but they intentionally reference 17th-century structures that once dotted the area and even marked this very site on a hill in Montauk. The earliest settlers among these heights established a cattle ranch, with livestock pens and dwellings made of local “rubble,” as the architects describe the native stone. Dramatically angled stone walls carve their way into the sloping meadow, suggesting “the traditional vernacular of East Coast architecture brought into the 21st century,” judge T. R. Pescod comments.
Finalist: BMA Architects
In this project, the architects put a special spin on the phrase “force of nature,” literally re-sculpting sand dunes in order to establish first-floor views of the ocean from a sprawling 11-bedroom house sited on five and a half acres in Southampton. The home’s signature is its airy double-height volumes, designed to take in dual water views from both front and rear rooms. This impressive feature serves as “the focus of the house,” says judge Jayne Michaels, allowing the structure to “blend quietly into the landscape.
Finalist: Robert Dean Architects
How do you restore and expand a modernist masterpiece, in this case one designed by the late East End architect Harry Bates, and make it into a new home for a young family? Robert Dean and his team did so. The mid-20th-century house had deteriorated to the point of being regarded as a teardown, but Dean replaced the siding, decks, and glazing while cleverly enlarging the structure at the rear with a two-bedroom pavilion. “Harry Bates created a jewel,” enthuses judge Joan Michaels, “and the architects wrapped it in velvet.”
Finalist: Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
In keeping with Bridgehampton’s centuries-old agrarian DNA, whereby buildings with varying purposes were clustered on a site to give priority to the land itself, Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects devised a group of simple, austere structures directly related to one another. The largest contains the home’s gathering spaces, a secondary volume features stacked bedrooms, and a third comprises a separate garage and pool quarters, all clad in durable yellow Alaskan cedar shingles. Both Jayne Michaels and Joan Michaels praise the residence’s “Shaker-style sensibility.”