Small, simple and stylish

On a small lot in Delaware, Lujan House recognises its setting whilst offering a sense of privacy

Modest houses on small lots comprise the Quillen’s Point neighbourhood, adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay in Ocean View, Delaware where this project is located. In an effort to integrate living spaces with the outdoors while maintaining privacy from the street and neighbouring houses, the house is organised around a centrally located garden.



The house was conceived as two simple, flat-roofed volumes, varying in height, intersecting and overlapping a one-storey circulation space which connects the volumes. Constructed with corrugated metal panels, cement board and ground faced block, the exterior material palette is quiet and subdued. Materials are selected for their expected long term durability, ease of installation and initial cost. The impact of the one story horizontal volume facing the street is intended to reflect the scale of neighbouring structures while the narrow two story volumes are oriented perpendicular to the street reducing their apparent scale.



This house is designed in strong counterpoint to many of the houses built in the last era of abundant resources, expensive materials, and limitless floor area. The house is not large; it comprises three bedrooms and 2,400 sq ft and is constructed with modest materials. The house was designed to achieve a balance between recognition of the picturesque Chesapeake Bay landscape and a more intimate, secluded garden environment. Expansive openings to the private garden combined with smaller, selectively oriented openings toward the greater landscape allow for a sense of privacy while maintaining a sensibility of direct connection to the rhythms of nature.

Related Posts by Categories

Widget by Scrapur