Coyle BrennanStudio

Ledge House · Hudson Valley

A house that let the rock stay.

Removing the outcrop would have cost roughly a third of the build. So the house steps over it.

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Ground up · drawn and built by the studio

  1. Stage 01

    Site

    A north sloping acre. The shale runs through the only ground worth building on, and hemlock holds the north edge.

    Survey, soils, setbacks · the ledge stays

  2. Stage 02

    Massing

    Two volumes, half a storey apart, bridged over the rock. The exposed ledge becomes the floor of the room between them.

    Schematic · the move that saved a third of the build

  3. Stage 03

    Drawing

    Full set, priced by our own estimators as it was drawn. The decision to keep the ledge was costed at schematic, not at tender.

    Plans, sections, details · one set

  4. Stage 04

    Built

    Framed, clad and finished by our own crew. The one change the rock forced took three days, because the people who drew it were standing on it.

    One contract · to certificate of occupancy

01 / the house

Four decisions, in order.

Site

One acre, north slope, shale outcrop across the buildable ground. Hemlock on the north edge, drive from the west.

Constraint

Blasting and removing the ledge priced out at roughly a third of the construction budget. The rock was not going to move.

Move

Two volumes, half a storey apart, bridged over the ledge rather than cut into it.

Built

By the studio's own superintendent, carpenters and trades, through to certificate of occupancy and a return visit after the first winter.

02 / plates

Three frames, when it is photographed.

21:9 Image direction The bridge, from below and west, last light. The ledge lit, the underside of the slab in shadow. No people, no cars, no styling.
Plate 01 The room over the rock.
4:3 Image direction Cladding detail at the eave, raking light, shadow across the boards. Close, square on, no lens distortion.
Plate 02 Eave and board, west face.
3:4 Image direction Interior, one shaft across plaster, everything else in shadow. Long exposure, no fill, nothing arranged.
Plate 03 Upper volume, afternoon.

03 / start

Your site has its own ledge.

Tell us what it is. Three questions and an email address.

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