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Architects: Joeb Moore & Partners
- Area: 4875 m²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:David Sundberg | Esto
Text description provided by the architects. The Stonington Residence, a recently renovated and restored historic house, is sited between 300 feet of waterfront and a large meadow in Stonington, Connecticut. While the house is situated on a small stone ledge, additional rock outcroppings of the landscape help to organize the outdoor spaces, which include a studio and garage, a pool, and patios.
The existing house was designed during World War II (1945) by architect John Lincoln, former senior architect for the Navy at Quonset Point, professor of architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design, and an inventor of the Quonset Hut, a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated steel and plywood. Frank Lloyd Wright's influence is evident in Lincoln’s use of stone, corner windows and a flat roof. Due to the nature of the materials and construction methods used on the original building, the design process was akin to an archaeological investigation, revealing the home’s unique details, and incorporating its materials and methods into a new design.
The original house had five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a library, a laboratory, and three fireplaces, all situated along a granite wall that runs through the center of the house. The stone wall remains the primary organizing device and functions as a stabilizing center around which new construction opens up an extended entryway and circulation through the home. In addition to the stone wall, new blackened steel and plywood elements create linkages between public and private programs and reference Quonset’s industrial heritage. Finally, a rectangular second-floor volume encapsulates the reconfigured primary bedroom suites, wrapping them in a corrugated metal envelope that directs views from balconies on each end and softly contrasts with the natural stone of the lower exterior.
