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Bridge-shaped Holiday Home Amidst Nature

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The concept of this holiday home designed by Joeb Moore+ Partners Architects must be seen through its geographical context. Located in Kent, Connecticut, the house is set along a ridge that parallels the Kent Falls State Park. The Kent Falls are a series of cascades that form when the bedrock contains both hard and soft layers that erode over time. A more recent addition to this natural landscape are the man-made wooden bridges built to ease circulation around the falls. These two aspects are mirrored into the design of the house, as the house turns and spans along the landscape and down the hillside. The living-dining bridge is anchored into the hillside by two concrete structures at both ends. These structures have a double role: one is structural, they have the role of foundation, and the other one is functional, they play the role of chimneys. The interior spaces interlock and the living and dining bridge, open on two sides, is turned parallel to the meadow and the valley. The openness of the spaces together with the vertical stair-light well create a beautiful example of “camera lucida” or viewing chamber. These openings allow for a projection of the exterior conditions such as views, weather and light on the interior living rituals.

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Depending from where we look at it, the house reveals one or two floors. Looking from the afar at the top of the slope, one can see a wooden bridge that leads to a see-through glass and wood structure.
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As one gets closer the house reveals its whole body, showing clearly the bridge structure of the living and dining area suspended over an open room at the bottom.
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This open room functions as an outdoors protected living/media room. The two concrete structures on the sides have integrated fireplaces that allow for this space to be livable even in colder weather.
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The living and dining area have a privileged position on the bridge structure that has glass walls on two sides. The benefits of this position are a light flooded space and beautiful views on the wild nature that surrounds the house.
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A sculptural looking chair is placed in front of the windows that overlook the valley, inviting to contemplation.
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The cooking and eating areas are laid out in such a way as to also benefit from light and views.
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The bedrooms, set in the winds of the house that run perpendicular on the valley, also privilege light and views through floor-to-ceiling windows.
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A specific feature of the house are the light wells that bring the sky into the house and create a felling of suspended living. This way, the light travels vertically through the staircase all the way down to the bottom level.
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The light-well idea is exploited to the maximum in the double height small bathroom. The top height is painted bright red and it looks like a red tunnel that leads to the light.
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