This house for two highly engaged graphic artists is located on the banks of the Damariscotta River. The site slopes to the east and south. The house straddles an old stonewall and a line of oak trees on the south provides shade in the summer. The main floor is an open plan and contains the kitchen, dining and living in large open room with a separate master bedroom and bath.  The exposed wood glu-lam beams on an 8′ grid clear spans the width of the house and express the rational structural system.

An exterior walkway suspended by stainless steel tubes from cantilevered beams acts as a sunscreen for the glass wall of the main living spaces and leads to a large screened porch on the riverside. The lower level has two bedrooms with an exposed steel bar joists and metal deck ceiling and access to a covered deck overlooking the water. The basement walls are made of ICF (insulated concrete form) and sit directly on ledge, avoiding the need to blast.

Both floors are radiant heated exposed concrete. The Galvalume corrugated metal siding on the exterior provides a durable and light material over a highly insulated wood frame envelope.The design and construction of the house combined an unusual use of industrial building materials, imaginative clients and a willing builder on a very difficult site.

General Contractor: Doherty Built