The Hamptons enjoys a storied past. Unique daylight and compelling landscapes have drawn artists to this part of Long Island’s South Fork for the last century and a half, and their work here includes an important body of modernist fine art and architecture. Yet more recently, the Hamptons’ allure has outsized its capacity—sprouting insensitive residential development, snarled traffic, and a national reputation for showing off. When a longtime Mapos client asked us to consider creating a multi-generational family retreat overlooking the Peconic Bay, we initiated dialogue about preserving the Hamptons’ historic character while accommodating the scale and refinement of 21st-century living. Prior to assigning this commission to Mapos, the husband and wife had purchased five acres of bluff top, in which the Peconic Bay and old-growth forest sandwich a sliver of meadow. In that time, they had also become deeply enthralled by the property’s existing trees and fauna, particularly a 70 foot tall sycamore standing near the center of the meadow. Emboldened by our vision of reasserting the Hamptons’ creative and environmental legacies, the couple requested a compound that leaves as little imprint on the site as possible.
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