Project Title: Peaks Island Cottage

Firm: Whitten Architects

Submitted for Consideration in: Architecture, Landscape, Interiors

Client:

Location: Portland, Maine

Project-At-a-Glance:
Carefully integrated into the Peaks Island neighborhood, this new family home replaces a seasonal cottage in poor structural condition. Positioned on the brink of dynamic contrasts, the home is simultaneously connected to raw nature, quaint island life, and convenient public ferry service to the vibrant life of downtown Portland, Maine.

Project Narrative:

A young professional family of four from Boston desired a home in the Peaks Island neighborhood of Portland and return to a Maine lifestyle.

Our design solution replaces a decaying, non-conforming, seasonal cottage with an energy-efficient and durable home that better meets municipal zoning ordinances, while also preserving the long-standing coastal view-corridors of surrounding homes.

The main level spaces are arranged to encourage family gathering around the kitchen while also maximizing views across the water to neighboring islands and Portland's distant skyline. This main level living space is directly connected to the outdoors by a large sliding and pocketing glass door and an elevated outdoor living space that overlooks the backyard below. The sliding door is mirrored at the lower-level providing immediate walkout access from the family’s game room to an outdoor firepit, play lawn, and the sandy beach beyond.

A light and airy stair bisects the building bringing southern sun directly into the center of the home, highlighting the entry, while also connecting the more public living spaces to the private upper level bedrooms.

The exterior forms and materials of the new cottage evolved from our re-use of the old cottage footprint and the desire of our clients to fit into the surrounding neighborhood which is full of two-story cottages clad in eastern white cedar shingles with wraparound porches.

The new home affords the young family an elevated level of health and safety that includes a fully integrated fire alarm, monitoring, and suppression system that is crucial for safety while living in this remote and vulnerable island locale.

From where it sits at the edge of the Atlantic, the location is not only a perfect base from which one can explore but also represents the incredible natural diversity of Maine itself.