We are delighted to receive a 2024 AIA Maine Design Award for the Somes Sound House!
Featured in Maine Home + Design:
From the Jury: The interior and exterior work together nicely, and the forms are compelling. The profile of the roof form creates an elegant composition.
From the Architect: A young family with two kids asked our firm to design an all-season retreat at the edge of Acadia National Park. Baird Architects was encouraged to create a structure that would “sit lightly on the ground,” respecting the beloved natural setting the owners had visited for many years of picnicking and camping.
To accommodate the goal of “a modest expression worthy of the site,” our solution involves a simple L-shaped plan made of two structures connected by a cedar breezeway. One volume is winterized and capable of accommodating the family for colder seasons; the second is a sleeping wing for summer and shoulder season use.
The primary structure is a sloped volume, low and horizontal at the waterside, rising to a vertical, solid expression on the mountain side. The primary bedroom and bathroom are located at the top of this volume. A small sleeping loft is tucked into the eaves of the open-plan dining, kitchen, and living room. A cantilevered overhang protects the living room glazing from excessive western sun in summer and provides shelter from the rain and drizzly fog. The summer wing has two bedrooms connected by a shared bathroom. It is entered from a communicating deck such that all circulation is exterior and protected.
The design constraints of creating an affordable, four-bedroom house in rural Maine were addressed through a selective materials palette. Using a hybrid of winterized and nonwinterized volumes resulted in an efficient cost of construction.
The project is an example of a restrained contemporary vernacular, demonstrating how simple architectural form can express larger, compelling ideas about site, conservation, and environment. This architecture respects and complements its precious natural landscape.
Project Team: Matthew Baird, Alice W. Chai, Maria Milans del Bosch, Florence Schmitt-Thai
Structural Engineer: Albert Putnam Associates
Civil Engineer: G.F. Johnston & Associates
Windows: CAOBA
General Contractor: Chris Parsons
Photographer: Elizabeth Felicella