House of Courtyards Upstate NY

This villa on a sprawling 12 acres site is designed around a calibrated sequence of exterior and interior spaces to take advantage of the spectacular, gently sloping wooded site. The floor plan organization and the large sliding doors, allow thehouse to expand and contract according to the seasonal changes. Openings and walls, frame and focus the interior views toward the mountains in the background and toward a large natural pond.

The interior architecture creates a visual connection with the forest and landscape while providing a feeling of refuge through warm, natural materials and hand-crafted details. Our design ethos deploys craft and digital fabrication to produce poetic details that embody the tactility and richness of artisanal processes. The house of courtyards exemplifies this approach through several custom elements that re-interpret traditional regional details in a contemporary way. The living quarter opens toward forest and mountain views on the East and pond views on the North-East corner, which is fully glazed. Rather than capturing direct light, this orientation privileges the more poetic reflected light from the flickering leaves. Overall, the interior material palette is refined, understated, and mostly specific to the region.

“The House of Courtyards, a new Columbia County house, is a refined living space in the heart of a secluded wooded plot […] Planned around a courtyard and covered outdoor spaces, but unified through form and material, The House of Courtyards is a contemporary take on the cabin in the woods.”
Wallpaper*

“The ethos of the Alepreda studio uses craftsmanship combined with digital modeling to produce a poetic aesthetic language that highlights the tactile sensations and richness of handmade processes. This approach is made evident by the multiplicity of personalized elements, both in the structural characteristics and in the selection of furnishings: the rooms are enlivened by vintage pieces and objects produced on a small scale with traditional carpentry techniques, designed by the architect and made by the Miduny brand.”
AD Italia