Architectural Record 2015-04

POUND RIDGE HOUSE POUND RIDGE, NEW YORK KIERANTIMBERLAKE 93
SITE PLAN
0 100 FT.
30 M.
However, the elevations were the product of intense study,
according to Jason Smith, partner in charge of the project.
The goal was to waste as little of the stainless and copper
sheet material as possible and minimize the number of the
highly polished panels (which were the most expensive),
while providing richness and diversity.
All this attention to the skin produced more than just a
stunning aesthetic effect. The cladding is part of a thermally
robust and nearly airtight envelope system that includes
structural insulated panels (SIPs). The house, which was
designed with Passive House strategies (see page 120) in
mind, also incorporates radiant heating, a geothermal
system, and an energy-recovery ventilator. Kieran likes to
compare the Pound Ridge project to Philip Johnson’s Glass
House, completed in 1949 in nearby New Canaan,
Connecticut. Johnson’s house is visually open to its environs,
since it has no interior partitions and is entirely enclosed,
on all four sides, in floor-to-ceiling single-pane glass. In
contrast, the triple-glazed windows on the KieranTimberlake
house make up only 13 percent of the building enclosure.
Like the midcentury project, the Pound Ridge house is an
example of a “dwelling within nature,” says Kieran, but one
without “the same energy consequences.” ■
SUSPENDED IN AIR
The two-story entry
hall (below, left)
features a stair with
cantilevered white
oak treads seemingly
inspired by M.C.
Escher, whose work
the clients collect. The
stair hall, where they
display a mixed-media
piece by another
favorite artist, Frank
Stella, serves as the
linchpin between the
bedroom wing (below,
right) and the main
living space (opposite).
White oak floors,
full-height windows,
and carefully
positioned skylights
lend the interiors a
light and airy feel.