Location: Dobbs Ferry, NY
Project Type: New Construction
Lot Size: 12,500 sq ft
Building Size: 4,460 sq ft
Contractor: Marinkovic Home Improvement Contracting
Landscape Architect: Rivi Oren Landscape Inc
What many had seen as a challenging site was an opportunity for the owner: a tight, quarter-acre on a steep site that afforded glorious Hudson River views. Since the property sat so high up off the street, the goals for the project were to reduce the apparent volume of the structure, to use the topography in unusual ways, and to take advantage of the views that the lot provided.
The solution was to create three distinct buildings to delineate the various functions: separating the formal, informal, and service areas of the home at the entry level and the main bedroom suite from the two secondary bedrooms on the level above. Because the two main volumes are not parallel to each other, the void between them was designed as a wedge-shaped, double-height atrium where floor-to-ceiling glass walls at either end serve to bring light into the home and provide spectacular river views. Warm European limestone paving and façade stucco are repeated on the atrium’s interior to seamlessly link the indoor/outdoor experience upon entry. On the main floor, the exterior wall of the south building transforms into a series of wide wall openings, reminiscent of a colonnaded street, and allows for a graceful flow between the atrium and the living and dining areas. The north building houses a dramatic family room with an inglenook fireplace and exterior wall of 11-foot high French doors overlooking an exquisite Palisades panorama. The third building, toward the rear, houses a chef’s kitchen with French doors onto a trellised outdoor dining terrace. A 9-foot-high stone waterfall feature wall beyond provides visual and acoustic privacy for the yard. Responding to another owner request, the home maintains the highest LEED standards, with geothermal heating/cooling, spray insulation, and LED lighting throughout.
Photographer: Albert Vecerka / ESTO
Brad Stein Photography
