Deep in the dunes on the Gloucester beachfront, there lives a new Cape Cod modern-style house that literally has risen from the ashes.
What happened was this. The owners had just renovated the old house, which is on eight acres in a remote, ecologically sensitive area reached by a long, winding road, when it caught fire and burned to the ground.
Shocked and devastated—“There was nothing left—the greatest loss was the years of our lives and our kids’ lives that we weren’t able to be there,” the homeowner says—the couple commissioned Boston-based ZeroEnergy Design, whose forte is modern high-performance architecture, to create a replacement.
“We wanted a house that exploited the views, connected the indoors with the outdoors, and was energy efficient enough to weather the elements all year round,” the homeowner says.
The ZeroEnergy Design team, led by senior architect Matt Genaze, AIA CPHC LEED AP, and managing director Stephanie Horowitz, AIA CPHC, created a super-insulated, airtight, all-electric house, complete with solar panels, triple-glazed windows, and a continuous ventilation system that aligns with the Passive House standard. It was expertly crafted by the team at Covenant LLC.
“In every project, we combine the allure of great design with high-performance assemblies that disappear,” Genaze says. “The solar panels on this house, for instance, are tucked back from the edge of the roof—you can’t see them unless you fly a drone overhead.”
Using the existing footprint, the team designed a three-story house that is in sync with its surroundings.
The massing, a pair of connected squares joined in the middle, and two main roofs pitched at different angles, is augmented by triangular bump-outs. Genaze and Horowitz were inspired by the undulations of the constantly shifting dunes.
“This form gives the house a sense of dynamism,” Genaze says.
To convey a contemporary style that respects the context of the neighborhood, the new house is clad in untreated natural cedar siding that will weather and patina over time. The main forms are made of vertical shiplap siding in Alaska yellow cedar, and the accent bump-outs and window trim are in Western red cedar in a horizontal open-slat system.
“This site has one of the most beautiful coastal views,” Horowitz says. “We used floor-to-ceiling windows and corner windows to create a 360-degree visual connection to the scenery. The views are like panoramic dynamic murals.”
Those murals, which show the trees, the dunes, and the sky in different light as the day progresses to night, “make the house a true treasure,” the homeowner says.
The views also are embraced by a series of decks—one from the kitchen to the outdoor grilling station; one above the screened porch that’s used by the adult children; one off the primary suite; and a large one, ideal for entertaining as well as everyday use, that features a stairway to the beach.
“These indoor-outdoor connections are what distinguish the house,” Genaze says. “Finding multiple and varied ways to allow the homeowner to connect with the outdoors is one of the highlights of the project.”
Inside, the furnishings selected by the homeowner bow to the views. In the living room/dining room, for instance, an architectural screen above the fireplace mantel cleverly and seamlessly hides the flat-screen television. The simple wooden table is placed perpendicular to the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows so the landscape becomes the main course for diners, and the outdoor deck it points toward only covers a third of the window space.
“We didn’t want its railing, which is already minimalist, to interrupt the view,” Genaze says.
The chef’s kitchen, which was a priority for the homeowners, has a six-burner range, two sinks, a prep area, and a butler’s pantry. Seating at the T-shaped central island is positioned so that diners can see each other as well as the person preparing the meals.
One of the special features of the house is what Genaze and Horowitz have dubbed “the beach room,” which they describe as a special-purpose mudroom.
“You enter it off the beach side,” Genaze says. “Wet and loaded with sand, you stop at the outdoor shower, drop off your beach gear inside, put your towels and swimsuits in the washer and dryer, and then have access to an indoor shower in the adjacent bathroom.”
The homeowners have settled quite nicely into their new residence.
“What’s so spectacular about the house is that you feel you’re immersed in nature,” the homeowner says. “Living here feels like you’re in your most comfortable jeans.”