Architecture practice REX has unveiled the final design for their mirrored Necklace Residence project overlooking Long Island Sound. After winning the competition for the project in 2013, the firm has made a series of changes to their plan. The design includes five private family homes for a husband and wife, their four children, and each of their children's families. Made to be experienced autonomously and as part of a larger whole, each home rethinks archetypal American houses.
Designed across 43,500 square feet, the Necklace Residence includes two shared pavilions: the Event Pavilion and the Entertainment Pavilion. Looking out to the ocean from a dense forest, the homes are clad in reflective glass to blend into the natural landscape. Each of the five homes has its own typology: the Checkerboard House, “U” House, Stripe House, Barcode House, and Dice House. The design includes a garage, indoor swimming pool, gym, home theater, staff area, wine cellar and spa.
A circular glass walkway connected the elevated houses and programs around a central garden. Inside, the walkway is lined with a cherry wood wall that transforms into circulation itself. Inside the event and entertainment pavilions, the wood wall turns into sculptural staircases that shape the interior spaces. From a bar and library to a ground floor entry, the wall becomes a defining element of the interior space. It also connects the homes to the forest and landscape below.
KEY PERSONNEL: Tim Burwell, Alberto Cumerlato, Maur Dessauvage, Shereen Doummar, Mahasti Fakourbayat, Mette Fast, Alysen Hiller Fiore (PL), Tyler Hopf, Gabriel Jewell-Vitale, Min Kim, Elizabeth Nichols, Kelsey Olafson, Joshua Ramus, Raul Rodriguez (PL), Emma Silverblatt, Aude Soffer, Minyoung Song, Elina Spruza Chizmar (PL), Michele Tonizzo, Cristina Webb, Vaidotas Vaiciulis, Michael Volk, Danny Wei
EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: Andrew Giambertone
CONSULTANTS: Front, Knippers Helbig, Altieri Sebor Wieber, Tillotson, LaGuardia, Audio Command Systems, Hanington Eng., Sidney Bowne & Son, Construction Specifications
