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Bates Masi + Architects LLC, a full-service architectural firm with roots in New York City and the East End of Long Island for over 45 years, responds to each project with extensive research in related architectural fields, material, craft and environment for unique solutions as varied as the individuals or groups for whom they are designed. The focus is neither the size nor the type of project but the opportunity to enrich lives and enhance the environment. The attention to all elements of design has been a constant in the firm’s philosophy. Projects include urban and suburban residences, schools, offices, hotels, restaurants, retail and furniture in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. The firm has received 43 design awards since 2003 and has been featured in national and international publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Metropolitan Home, and Dwell. Residential Architect Magazine selected Bates Masi one of their 50 Architect’s We Love. A gallery exhibition in May 2010 featured the firm’s earlier work from 1960-70.

 

Paul Masi spent childhood summers in Montauk and currently resides in Amagansett. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Catholic University and a Masters of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He worked at Richard Meier & Partners before joining this firm in 1998.

Harry Bates, a resident of East Hampton, received a Bachelor of Architecture from North Carolina State University. After ten years with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, he was in private practice in New York City for 17 years before moving the firm to Southampton on the East End in 1980. Our offices are currently located in Sag Harbor with plans to relocate to a new LEED Certified office building of our own design in East Hampton.

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Twin Pond

Lot size: 1.5 acres

Building size: 2,980 sq. ft.

Location: Montauk, NY

Program: Single Family Residence

A small beach cottage sits on top of a hill with views of the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The clients have outgrown the small cottage with the addition of two children to their family and desire a new house that responds directly to the site conditions and maintains the relaxed, low maintenance lifestyle that their current beach cottage exudes.

A close analysis of how to harness the sun and wind became the driving force in the form and materiality of the house. The board formed concrete core of the house, on the north side, withstands the chilling winds that blow from the north during winter noreaster storms. The core roof gradually inclines, to rise above the adjacent roof. It acts as a “solar chimney” to collect and direct the hot summer air that rises to the highest point of the roof, and vents out of the operable wood and glass wall allowing the home to breathe, much like gills allow a fish to breathe. The higher roof is the perfect location for a bank of photovoltaic panels, that will power the house.

Large roof overhangs allow glazed overhead doors at the Kitchen, Living and Dining Rooms to open up and let in cool summer breezes and provide protection from solar gain in the summer months. The focal point of the Living Room is a raised hearth that surrounds the fireplace, which mediates the 30 degree bend of the

house to the south, where the Master and Children’s Bedrooms are located. Privacy from the neighbor to the east and spectacular ocean views are maintained at the bedrooms as a result of this bend. The roof grows from the ground as the wall of the outdoor shower, transitions to the carport overhang and gradually rises to the apex at the master bedroom where it wraps down to enclose the private Master Bathroom Deck and outdoor shower, again, providing privacy from the neighbor.

One enters the house to see the ocean through the outdoor room with a fire pit that separates the living room from the dining room. Shoes are taken off upon entry and placed in the storage bench at the base of the stairs. The journey up a flight of stairs and across a ramped bridge brings one to the meditation room and deck, the only room located on the 2nd story. An ideal area for contemplation, the Meditation Room is secluded from the rest of the house and opens to a deck overlooking the sea.

By harnessing the sun and wind, the house took shape as a container that selectively stores and sheds the elements to create an ideal living environment for the client.

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