Coulter Residence
Medfield, MA | 2008

This addition above an existing structure expands the experience of the house without actually making it bigger. The ‘interior-ness’ of the existing stone ground level is juxtaposed against the ‘exterior-ness’ of the new second level: The light-weight and light-filled masses of the new second floor are separated into their own programmatic boxes. This fragmentation allows both new framed views to the surrounding landscape and the framing of new captured roof-gardens that both connect and separate the rooms. The necessity of air-conditioning is eliminated through the strategic use of overhangs that either block the high-summer sun, or allow the low-winter sun in to heat the thermally massive floor.