Passing time

Ephemeral Edge is a weekend retreat located three hours north of New York City. As a retreat, the goal of the project was to contrasts the rapid sense of time and pressure of the city and extend the enjoyment and sensuousness of the everyday passage of time that is often highlighted in the open landscape.
Designed by Dean-Wolf Architects, the sense of extended time is accomplished by taking advantage of the forested hillside which contains a constructed pond with distant views. The design responds to four site conditions: the curving edge of the pond, the torqued banks necessary to construct the pond, the spindly edge of the forest clearing, and the quiet beauty of the distant view.
Internally the sun fills the intimate spaces of the house with the light and shadow of the forest. The pond and the distant view are always present.  At the entry, where the dining space aligns with the distant view, doors open through the house, joining the intimate table to the larger landscape.