Hawk's Meadow

It started with a site... and a call from a client. This time from a builder we had worked with for several years on a range of residential projects. They had bought a site years before and now wanted to sell it with a comprehensive design. Three sustainable houses on seven acres of meadow-land near the heart of downtown Amherst. A way to sell a vision to prospective buyers without having to build a physical house. Images for the minds to walk though. The ability to customize.

And so, a project was born...

Context: Hadley is an agricultural community spread across the plains of a river valley between two college towns.

It is a place with an iconic vernacular history of farmhouses and tobacco barns.

Site: Hawk’s Meadow is a seven acre parcel within walking distance to downtown Amherst. Although it is on the edge of a suburban even urban - zone, the site is distinctly rural in character.

Approach: * Position houses towards views of the natural landscape, while sheilding an adjacent commercial building to the southwest.

* Respond to existing road along southern edge of

site by staggering house volumes, depressing the landscape, and locating the garage to create a semi-private zone in front of the main living space of each house.

* Place garage so that southern light penetrates deeply into each backyard.

* Create private outdoor space in the back of each house, out of view from neighbors.

* Define outdoor space around each unit as small jewels of manicured lawn (if desired) in an otherwise uncultivated meadow.

* Mow paths through shared open space at entry of site (and possibly through each parcel) to allow residents to explore the meadow while it remains intact as a natural habitat.

views of site

north

site plan

perspective - south

Program:

Approach:

The client requested three 2,000 sqft, single-story homes with three bedrooms that would appeal to a broad market – from new families to recent retirees.

* Break up mass by separating program into a

public/living zone and a private/sleeping zone.

Connect the two volumes with a transparent entry.

* Open each volume to views. Determine ceiling

heights independently in each section of the volume, allowing standard pre-fabricated trusses to be used in the majority of the house.

* Allow the climate of each volume to be controlled separately so that energy consumption can be minimized during the day, when the living zone most in use.

perspective - west

* Provide a full basement (as desired by the client) in one volume. Allow the other to be built as a slab on grade, thereby saving construction cost.

* Use twelve-inch double-stud walls, super-

insulated glazing, and integrated solar panels to reduce energy consumption.

perspective -southwest

* Create an open floor plan in the main living space.

Provide a spare room (guest room, study, office, tv-room, etc.) to allow for more privacy within the public volume.

* Design a building inspired by the spare geometric

forms of the tobacco barn, combined with the porches of the classic farmhouse. Create houses that are both modern and traditional, crisp and inviting.

perspective - southeast

perspective - east

floor plan

perspective - entry

perspective - from living room

perspective - from kitchen

exterior perspective - south

exterior perspective - east

Interior perspective - living room looking west

Interior perspective - kitchen looking east

north

It ends (for now) with a hope... that the houses will be built. That the meadow will thrive. That people will be born and grow old within a timeless group of homes rooted to their site, in context with their surroundings.