Desai Chia, New York kırsalında kavisli metal çatılı Chatham Residence'ı tamamladı

US-based Desai Chia Architecture has completed Chatham Residence, a project designed for retirement, in the town of Chatham in New York State's Columbia County. Set atop a 32-hectare (roughly 80-acre) property near the Catskill Mountains, the house was designed for a couple with grown children who wanted to build a new life away from New York City.

How did the roof design take shape?

The Manhattan-based studio considered every component of the site during the design process, from the distant mountains to the surrounding forest. The firm noted that tree trunks on the property rise like columns, while the leaf canopy creates shifting patterns of light and shadow as sunlight moves through it. Drawing on these observations, the resulting curved metal roof, with its deep eaves, both provides shade and echoes the interplay of light and shadow found in nature.

Interior layout and materials

At the center of the single-story house is a social zone encompassing the kitchen, dining area, and living room. Here, curved corners soften the transition from walls to the vaulted ceiling, while floor-to-ceiling glass surfaces open onto sweeping views of the landscape. The home's central section is flanked by two wings, one housing the primary bedroom and the other the additional bedrooms. Skylights bring natural light into the main bathroom and entry hall. On the exterior, the architects chose corrugated metal cladding, a material frequently seen in contemporary farm buildings, valued both for its durability and for the way its surface reflects light in a understated manner. Under the eaves and in covered seating areas, rough-sawn accoya wood was used.

Additional structures: guest house, greenhouse, and barn

Alongside the main residence, a separate guest house containing the couple's home office was built. This structure, finished with corrugated metal cladding and curved eaves to match the main building, opens onto a pool terrace through wide sliding doors. The project also includes a greenhouse designed in collaboration with New Hampshire-based Rimol Greenhouses and a barn; these structures store sunlight through the day via their polycarbonate walls and glow like lanterns at night. The landscape design includes grazing areas for sheep, goats, and miniature donkeys, along with a walking path leading to a natural pond.

What does it mean for architecture and interior design practice?

For architecture firms interested in single-story residential design on rural sites, the project offers a concrete example of how roof geometry inspired by natural forms (leaves, shadows) can be turned into both a structural and a functional element. For interior designers, the curved ceiling-to-wall transitions, daylight control through skylights, and the approach to establishing a relationship with the landscape through expansive glass surfaces are noteworthy. Additionally, the integration of agricultural structures like the greenhouse and barn with the main building using economical materials such as polycarbonate serves as an example of how landscape and auxiliary structures can be considered together in rural projects. The project's engineering and consulting team included Gilsanz Murray Steficek (structural), CES (mechanical), Eileen Pierce Lighting Studio (lighting), Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architects (landscape), Crawford Associates (infrastructure), Structureworks (general contractor), and Elephants Custom Furniture (furniture). Project photography was by Paul Warchol.