Frame House: a new perspective on Gardiners Bay

On the East End of Long Island, East Hampton, Frame House is a private residence designed by Worrell Yeung. Set on a bluff overlooking Gardiners Bay, the home integrates perfectly with the surrounding landscape through a design that departs from the traditional local style.

The architects took their design cues from icons of modernist architecture, such as Le Corbusier’s Domino House and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.

 

Frame House: essential architecture poised between linearity and geometry

The project is a study on a 2x2x7 three-dimensional steel grid structure that gives order and rhythm to the internal and external spaces. This modular frame allows for a mix of transparent and opaque surfaces, providing privacy for the occupants and establishing a close connection between the building and its natural surroundings on all sides.

On the street-facing side, sections of the frame are closed off by cedar-clad walls interspersed with large windows. In contrast, the side facing the bay is fully glazed, creating a constant connection between the interiors and the panoramic ocean views.

A stone staircase flanked by a variety of plants leads to the front door. Inside, the living area opens up into a voluminous double-height living room, defined by large transparent surfaces on the two shorter sides and along the entire sea-facing wall with its views of Gardiners Bay and an infinity pool.

The living room combines elegant white fabric sofas with a large sage-colored rug that echoes the shades of the surrounding vegetation.

Next to it is the kitchen, characterized by a long dark gray stone counter surrounded by timber stools with light tones. An accessorized wall integrates the doors, sink, and cooktop, all finished in dark tones. Large ribbon windows illuminate the kitchen from above, while framing the treetops like a painting.

Two bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom, are also at ground level. Upstairs, a small library with a leather armchair provides an intimate space, while the primary suite, overlooking the bay, has an en-suite bathroom that features a sculptural concrete bathtub and travertine sinks.

A second flexible space on the upper level can double as a study or guest bedroom. An internal window visually connects this space to the double-height living room, creating an ongoing dialogue between the different levels of the home.

 

Essential materials and sustainable solutions

The interior color palette is neutral and carefully calibrated, with the light tones used for the concrete floors in the common areas and timber in the bedrooms creating a minimalist, elegant aesthetic. Light shades alternate with dark tones that recall the color of the structural steel grid and create a distinctive contrast.

Worrell Yeung incorporated a number of sustainable design choices into the project, including photovoltaic panels and planted sedum trays to absorb and collect rainwater.

The steel structure is finished with recycled aluminum composite panels that are low VOC and entirely recyclable, thus reducing the environmental impact of the project.

 

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