Hillsdale House is a weekend getaway in upstate New York on the last eastern ridge in New York state, overlooking both the Berkshires and the Catskills. The approach to the site is heavily veiled without a hint as to the views to be revealed. The driveway mounts the hill, and to the west, coming out of the wooded terrain, the Catskills are uncovered; the drive circles back around to face the house with the Berkshires unfolding beyond. Our response to this dramatic site was to continue screening the view and to reveal it gradually through the house. As the project developed, we sought to further mediate the long expansive views and to contrast them with views back to the more intimate courtyard landscape to the south.
The house is an ‘L’ shape, holding the north and west sides of the courtyard. A white cedar rain screen skins the house and peels off to create the wood fencing of the south and east sides of the courtyard.
Zinc metal roofing is used throughout and turns down the exterior wall surfaces to bracket the ends of the building. Exterior sliding shutters, constructed as a solid rain screen, allow the house to be closed down during times when the owners are away. The landscape within the courtyard will be a tended garden, and all else outside the courtyard walls will return to a more raw and natural state. The courtyard offers protection from the extreme weather conditions during all seasons.
The two-story core of the house holds the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen with single-story public spaces extending off of it, a screened-in porch to the south and a large dining and living space to the east. Exterior porches transition and extend the interior living spaces out into the landscape. The eastern end of the living space culminates in a music room, an amateur passion for the clients. The house is sited to take advantage of natural solar-heating gains; it is super insulated and incorporates solar hot-water panels for radiant floor heating, as well as solar photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. The design incorporates many recycled materials throughout the interiors.
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