Architectural Record – August 2019

A WEEKEND HOUSE DESIGNED BY RYALL SHERIDAN EXPLOITS THE WATER

VIEW AND ADVANCES SUSTAINABLE PRINCIPLES. BY WENDY MOONAN

ARCHITECTURAL RECORD AUGUST 2019 23

perspectivehouse of the month

PHOTOGRAPHY: © TY COLE

1 ENTRANCE STAIR

2 DINING ROOM

3 KITCHEN

4 LIVING ROOM

5 S T U D Y

6 D E C K

7 BEDROOM

8 MASTER BEDROOM

In desIgnIng a weekend house for a couple

from Manhattan, Ryall Sheridan Architects in

New York first helped locate its site on the North

Fork of Long Island. Bill Ryall, firm principal,

who has built up a substantive portfolio of qui­

etly modern residences in the area, found a

5.5­acre plot in Orient, a quaint rural village of

700 people. The flat property ends on a high

bluff overlooking the Long Island Sound. Here, at

its northern edge, Ryall placed the T­shaped,

5,660­square­foot wood structure and elevated its

living spaces, piano nobile fashion, to take ad­

vantage of the dramatic view.

You do not see the water as you approach; a

winding drive leads from the road to the carport

tucked under the cedar­clad, wood frame building.

To enter the house, you ascend a stair leading up to

the main floor. There—kaboom—as you walk into an

open dining room, you gasp at the sight of the

shining water and unimpeded view of the horizon.

The cedar-clad,

T-shaped house

(above) sits on a bluff

high above Long

Island Sound. Ryall

Sheridan captured

the dramatic views

for the living spaces

(left) and kitchen

(below) by elevating

the main level.

1

2

3

7

8

4

5

6

UPPER-LEVEL PLAN^0 16 FT5 M..