Ice House

Conversion of an existing 19th century lakefront ice storage building on Squam Lake in NH.  The project was an exercise in simplicity and grace within the strict confines of the building size (15' x 19') and the local zoning regulations.  From an Boston Globe article by Architecture critic Robert Campbell: "The architects had to turn the magic trick of pulling a big rabbit out of a small hat.  They had to find room for a spacious house inside a tiny shack.  Room for a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, a living room, an entry and storage...They pulled off their magic trick.  When you enter you can't believe the sense of space and light inside the shell." 

Further quote in Boston Globe by Robert Campbell "Its hard to forget this little house.  It seems to crystallize a kind of peace.  To get to it you must drive down a long, twisting road through a dark wood.  You feel you've left the world far behind.  You arrive at the house, you step up on the rough natural boulder that serves as a threshold, and you enter.  You turn towards the lake, where perhaps the sun is setting, or you watch the glow of the fire playing across the natural ceder walls.  You listen to the water lapping and the wind rustling among the oaks and maples and hemlocks.  You hear three loons call, and you hear Coolidge's little schnauzer dog, Kate, answer with accurate mimickry.  You feel both calm and alert, very much as you do in a ceremonial Japanese teahouse."