The primary objective of this significant transformation was to create a classic New England seaside vernacular cottage based on the superstructure of a 1960’s contemporary ranch house, which sat on a challenging cliff overlooking the harbor with views to the Atlantic Ocean.

The fundamental obstacle of the Little Harbor House was the restrictive site conditions. Site related issues of topography, zoning, and conservation concerns proved challenging in working with the existing superstructure of the house. Specifically, these issues complicated the conditions necessary to maintain the footprint, foundations, and general floor levels.

In order to overcome such a challenge, we had to negotiate design of site (topography) and the architectural design of cottage. The solution was to fill in the topography, which created a new opportunity for the architectural design of the house. The structure of the deck offers one example of how we negotiated the topographical and architectural design in which the site disallowed for the deck to be conventionally supported by columns and required that we develop a significant bracket system, all while complementing the design of the cottage.

Once the roof of the ranch was removed and the landward side topography was transformed, we were able to create the classic gambrel forms that from an interior perspective gained meaningful cathedral ceiling height in the primary bedrooms and clearstory dormer right above the French doored central study—all overlooking the inlet below and the ocean in the distance. Since its transformation, the Little Harbor House has become a well-known house in Cohasset, Massachusetts—recognized for its preservation of the original South Shore house’s nautical design aesthetic as a quintessential New England Style cottage on the bluff.