Roxbury House
The Roxbury House marries art and landscape in intimate and broad moments. The house is positioned uphill and on the edge of the 12-acre property to strategically take advantage of prevailing winds for natural ventilation and to minimize site disturbance and allow the existing open meadow and forest to support local wildlife and native vegetation. The undulating roofs and their deep overhangs simultaneously draw in sunlight and frame landscape views while also reducing direct glare and solar heat gain. Rainwater management through a series of rain gardens and existing retention ponds mitigate erosion and flooding along the steep terrain; the ponds also encourage native wetlands ecosystems to thrive.
The clients, owner of PROXYGO Gallery in New York City, wanted flexibility to use their home as an extension of their gallery and leave portions of the site open for rotating and site-specific outdoor installations. Indoor and outdoor spaces oscillate at different scales with long axial views through the house, linking spaces with beautiful layers of materials and light while culminating in distant views to the landscape. The courtyards are ready to receive outdoor art installations; the native birch trees embedded in the courtyards link the surrounding forest to the art experience. Hallways inside are not only used as circulation, but also as gallery walls for smaller art pieces and are flanked by windows, becoming extensions of the outdoor courtyards.
