Moss Hill

The final piece in an evolving masterplan of a 1961 mid-century house set in the woods, this 650-square-foot garage provided much needed flexible workspace; part car-park, part workshop, supporting activities like woodworking, bike repairs, art projects, exercise, and storage. This added space transformed this cherished home, allowing the owners to plan for aging in place.

Over time this wooded habitat has been shaped by the owners, melding a mid-Atlantic woodland environment with European and Japanese garden influences. Respecting the character of this matured setting, the new edifice riffs on the exacting modern language of the existing house, being sensitive to the scale and materiality of the low-slung structure while stitching into the sculpted landscape.

A simple modern box, with a design rigor evocative of the house, the garage’s massing has a “carve out” at one corner offering shelter over the entry, and access to “hidden” gardening tool closet, while visually eroding its presence. This inset is sheathed in a sustainable wood made of rice hulls and recycled plastic offering a warmth that contrasts the primary finish of white corrugated metal siding, selected to complement the tongue-and-groove siding of the original house, and for its low maintenance. A fully glazed garage door is visually welcoming and provides ample daylight for the activities within.  

The sitework required a surgical approach: retaining walls were rebuilt in concrete, terraces repaved in bluestone, walkways of river rock, new hardwood bridges and stairs, and reworked drainage systems synthesized house, garage, and landscape through a natural material palette. Replacing the old asphalt driveway with a light-colored stone chip surface softened the approach to the house, providing the entry experience an understated courtyard-like ambiance.

The resulting design yielded an addition at harmony with its place, and a new presence and visual appeal upon arrival.