Long Island Residence

Long Island, New York, 2026

The property for this house is wonderfully situated facing eastward on the north shore of Long Island onto Manhasset Bay. The principal orientation was towards the sunrise and smooth waters of Long Island. This became the driving reference for the entire composition. The residence is 14,250 square feet, including a four-car garage, and a main house split into three levels. The zoning is organized with technical spaces and the wine cellar on the lower floor; public living areas, gym, and pool access on the ground floor; and private bedrooms on the upper floor. The entrance is from the east into the drive, gently descending into the turn-around areas and solid massing of the house. The approach sequence allows for the entrance into the house facing eastwards towards the water, which all rooms are oriented towards.

The client’s request for few but all natural materials allowed for various textures and muted tones. The floors and stone counters are a unique travertine quarried from the Tuscan hills near Siena, Italy. All cabinetry and millwork are in teak finish, and walls are a textured warm hand-applied plaster, giving a softness and tactile quality to the surfaces. The exterior brick is from a centuries-old Belgian factory, and the travertine floor surface is continuous from the interior to the exterior. The scale of the large surfaces of the floor and walls is reduced by the articulation of the materials. The large stone slabs for the floors were fabricated into thin strips suggestive of a wood flooring pattern. Wood vein patterns and details break down the materials into more tactile and human-scaled figures.

The house’s uniqueness is expressed through the composition of the spaces, which keep Manhasset Bay as a constant reference. The entry sequence embraces visitors into a monumental arrival area with large brick surfaces and solid volumes. This feeling of solidity breaks down once inside the home towards the east. The ground floor rooms face eastward with 11’-6” high floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing an immediate view towards the water. The pool is also linear along this north/south elevation, extending and connecting the water from the pool to the bay for a continuous sense of spaciousness. On the upper floor, the main bedrooms also look out to the Bay from large dormers, and a green roof encourages a natural feeling that changes throughout the seasons.