On Safe Ground

Nestled into the native shrubs on the Martha’s Vineyard coastline Massachusetts the East House’s site-cast concrete facade welcomes the coastal vines, while providing a robust face to New England’s coastal weather.

The ten-inch thick concrete walls are cast in the form of a collection of concrete boxes, relieved with sustainably harvested Spanish Cedar window frames oriented to achieve both subtle and dramatic responses to the landscape.

Rose and Partners commissioned a study revealed a rate of coastal bluff erosion that made both client and architect extremely uncomfortable about the siting of the residence. The solution was to cast the floors in concrete, making each box a structural unit that could be individually lifted and moved to a location far from the bluff should erosion occur.

Each box has a rugged concrete exterior, and is finished on the interior with stone floors, and Douglas Fir and Alaskan Cedar planked walls, which are soft to touch but extremely durable in the rough coastal weather.