Design and construction of a timber-frame house on 2-acre Peggy’s Island, Stonington, Maine.
Backstory
This is a timber-frame house designed and built on a two-acre island in Stonington Maine. It represents hundreds of problems that needed to be solved and limitations that had to be integrated. It is a good example of managing complexity, working closely with people, getting it done no matter what nature dishes out, learning on the fly, staying within a budget, and making something inspirational.
Why is this here? I think of it as packaging (humans) and interface design. Balsa wood instead of Figma.
Before
The island sits in the harbor of Stonington, in full view of an old fishing community. My goal was to create something that people who have lived there for years would not resent in their panorama. Religion and navigation have been central to this community so I wanted the structure to envoke a church or lighthouse without overtly imitating either. Winter was spent working on sketches, models, and researching / locating materials.
During
The frame was designed to be assembled on the island without a crane. We worked on the frame components in New Hampshire and took them by barge to the island. Toby Hansen and Seth Seaver, two timber framers from Vermont, joined us to camp in tents on the island from May until November working to get the structure weathertight before winter.
After
The project was mostly completed in the summer of 2003. There is no running water but we have solar and internet access. Now, twenty years later, the house has weathered and blends into the landscape. The locals and neighbors claim to love looking at it. I love looking out of it.
Notes to self
In the harbor, the rain doesn’t come from above as you think. It comes directly at you, from the East with the force of a firehose. Now I understand why ships have small overbuilt portholes – not multi-pane salvaged windows. I learned another thing about the mysterious property of water. You can be pretty sure the source of a leak has no relation to where you see the leak.