Opening Gambit

Weather and our environment are in a constant state of flux. From the changing seasons to the changing climate, we reside, figuratively and quite literally, in an unstable air mass. Our separation from this environment is often regulated; though, through the static construct of our homes’ walls. Contemporary dwellings primarily rely on adjunct systems to maintain a secondary interior atmosphere, separate from the one that encompasses the house. And this, to a large extent is the purpose of our homes, our dwellings, to offer protection from inclement weather, and shade in the heat of the day.

Yet homes have lost their relationship with their environment, with the weather around them. No longer does one close the shutters at the onset of an impending storm, no longer do our homes contain “sleeping porches” for cool summer nights, rather the thermostat ensures we are always provided with our cool summer nights and our shutters have become vinyl bookends to windows, feigning functionality.

Restoring and reexamining this dynamic and active relationship, between the house and its environment, is what this opening gambit seeks to do. Designed to adapt to the changing climate along Coastal Maine, the Responsive House reacts against traditional notions of the static dwelling. While the immovable shoreline granite has worn, eroded and severed over time, the Responsive house delicately touches the land, tailoring to the changing winds and freeze-thaw cycles. It takes its inspiration in part from the rich sailing traditions in the region, where an array of sails are trimmed and hoisted to utilize changing winds. It also explores the sensibility of layered and adjustable hiking attire and abode. The house affords the inhabitant the ability to “trim” the constituent parts of the wall section to accommodate the weather, undergoing an array of metamorphosis throughout the days, weeks, and seasons.