Featured in Design New England: “’It seemed silly to build a fake farmhouse,’ says (owner) Tracy, ‘so we went in a different direction. It wasn’t like we ever said the word “modern.” We just talked about the things we loved. It had to be thoroughly accessible but look so cool that no one would guess that it was. And it had to be on budget.’ The Secklers were drawn to the industrial look of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams … not coincidentally, Burr and McCallum repurposed the 19th-century mill workers’ row houses into The Porches Inn, the posh resort across from the museum.” -- Article by B.J. Roche, photographs by Peter Vanderwarker
Berkshire vernacular architecture has always inspired our work, which borrows heavily from houses, barns, and old mills of the area. This project marks the first time we have stolen inspiration from the sawtooth roofs of the many moribund mills of the Berkshires. Our clients had always admired our industrial-inspired work and they wanted a small footprint with a lot of punch, but on a tight budget. The absence of a second floor gave us the opportunity for top lighting, and the sawteeth allowed us to bring direct shafts of south sun into all the major rooms, in spite of there being no southern exposure. A truss made up of a combination of metal rods and a heavy timber king post supports each sawtooth. A cross-shaped plan and sliding barn doors separate adult areas from children, while allowing generous openings to accommodate a careening wheelchair. Canadian triple-glazed windows help keep the budget in check.
