Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,500,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Regional Modern: Boston
Boston's contemporary home design reflects a respect for place, nature — and winter's chill
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More »
My series of ideabooks focused on regional differences in modern and contemporary residential architecture continues with Boston, Mass. One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston is now known for its major universities (Harvard and MIT, to name two), its medical and biotech facilities, and of course its sports teams. It's clear from the sampling below that houses calling the largest city in New England home cover a much larger area than the distinctive urban core and adjacent suburbs. Nevertheless, these houses illustrate something distinctive about this northeastern corner of the U.S.
More regional modern architecture:
Chicago | Austin | NYC | New York Metro | Seattle | Oregon
Northern California | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A.
More regional modern architecture:
Chicago | Austin | NYC | New York Metro | Seattle | Oregon
Northern California | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Cape Cod is to Boston as Long Island is to New York City: a way to leave the city and get in touch with nature, particularly the Atlantic Ocean. Houses on Cape Cod reflect the high property values of the peninsula, and also a respect for the place. This house in Truro blends into its context via wood cladding and a generous trellis. Cape Cod style across America |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Hammer Architects is clearly taking the cold winters into account in their addition by minimizing the size of openings on certain exposures. In an environment of natural beauty and extreme cold, houses must balance the desire for both views and warmth. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Another residential addition on Cape Cod (Wellfleet) by Hammer Architects illustrates these two considerations: some predominantly solid exterior walls give way ... |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| ... to expansive glass and a screened-in porch that takes advantage of views and the generous outdoor space. The house also includes an indoor lap pool with sliding walls that open it to the outdoors; Cape Cod is a playground of sorts, after all. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Another Wellfleet house by Hammer Architects shows a rustic flair in the weathered wood siding on these predominantly solid walls. Generous glazing on the other side of the house opens it to a large deck.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Martha's Vineyard, an island south and west of Cape Cod, is another popular draw for New Englanders. This house by Maryann Thompson Architects also uses wood cladding and sliding walls to connect inside and out in warm weather. A great indoor-outdoor fireplace (visible in the center of the photo) extends the use of this patio into the cooler months. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Moving closer to Boston (Westport, to be precise) to another house by Maryann Thompson Architects, we can see how the design responds to the site, a meadow. Large glass walls bring in plenty of sunlight, but the summer sun is reduced via large overhangs. Ringed by a porch, the house appears to be raised on a plinth, as if it floats on the meadow. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| By separating the interior spaces, breezes are allowed to funnel through the house. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| And here we see how the generous porch is echoed in the roof, creating sheltered outdoor spaces. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Arlington, northwest of Boston, is the location for another addition by Hammer Architects. A neighboring house appears in the distance, meaning privacy is also a concern with the placement and size of windows. The wood cladding works well alongside the brick original; it's not just for Cape Cod. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This house is located in Lincoln, west of Boston. The landscaped grounds are stunning and well-framed by floor-to-ceiling windows that alternate with white brick cladding. |
| Also west of Boston is Newton, where the last few houses in this collection are located. This impressively large and complex house selectively locates and sizes the windows, addressing both climate and privacy. The cantilevered top floor on the right is clad in wood, a recurring element in the region. |
| This smaller residence by the same architects is also covered in wood, but the two volumes are treated distinctively: the gray box uses horizontal planks; the raised red box is covered with vertical siding. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Last, this house brings to the fore the history found in the Boston area: the wood-clad exterior that informs many of the previous designs. Here, an addition opts for contrast, with metal instead of wood and large expanses of glass. More regional modern architecture: Chicago | Austin | NYC | New York Metro | Seattle | Oregon Northern California | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A. |
Ideabook updated on Nov. 7, 2011.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
How much more regional can you get than by building the house out of parts of the freeway dismantled as part of the Big Dig?
http://www.dytecture.ca