Nicholas Torres

Challenge

Design a vacation retreat for an urban couple on a vineyard in the Berkshires.

 

Vision

The first thing that caught my eye in the design of a vineyard was the dramatic linear structure of the vines. With this inspiration I used this grid layout as the structure for my retreat, leaving the beams and columns exposed to create visual continiutity. The retreat itself is divided in three modules, similar to a grape bunch, where the living module containing the kitchen and living room is cantilevered over the site to give a sense of activeness, while the sleeping module containing the bedrooms is lowered into the ground to give a sense of dormantness. These two are joined by a connector module which serves as the entrance, allowing for visual connection between the two and a sense of orientation. The retreat uses ample glass for views and natural light and wood beams and shingle walls to respond to the New England vernacular.