Sagaponac, New York—The Sagaponac House derives from our interest in looking afresh at Mies van der Rohe’s American houses, specifically the typology of the free-standing pavilion. Our interest in his work stems from a long-standing admiration, along with the recognition that within the classical idealist cannon his work has achieved a level of perfection which (despite our intuitive resistance to this idea, but amply borne out by his followers) cannot be improved.

We employ topological models which operate at two scales in the project. A volumetric organization allows continuity between landscape and building and a fine scale surface striation integrates and articulates geometry and materials as they shift from the intensive space of the interior to the extensive space of the exterior. While continuity at the volumetric level is achieved by weaving, continuity among interior and exterior surfaces is achieved by introducing a striated geometry into the surface models. Providing a repetitive system, these striations can acquire different materiality depending on location: from roof cladding on one extreme to turf on the other.

Permanent Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

Principals: Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto

Design Team: Matthias Blass, Eva Perez de Vega Steele, Rhett Russo, Jason Scroggin, Ade Herkarisma, Siran Oki, Akira Nakamura, Hidekazu Ota, Yuzuru Kobayashi, Kenji Nonobe, Mikiko Kajikawa, Yuya Suzuki

Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates, P.C. Nat Oppenheimer, Pat Arnett, Tim Shenk

Mechanical Consultant: ARUP New York—Mahadev Raman, Igor Kitagorsky