Flavin Architects have completed a three storey addition – the Lantern Studio – to a couple’s house in Massachusetts. The architects designed the free-standing structure for the couple to write, garden and repair antique scooters. The rectangular volume comprises a concrete base clad in stucco, with an exposed steel frame supporting the upper two floors.
The Lantern Studio is set behind and to the right of the client’s Dutch Colonial Revival residence, the original house remaining unchanged. The lot is along a busy residential street lined with an eclectic mix of Tudor and Colonial Revival houses. While still being visible from the street, the setback respects the context of traditional houses, and established pattern of accessory garages being located behind the primary dwelling.
The building is placed directly behind a spectacular glacial erratic boulder. The boulder becomes the focal point of the backyard entrance while the monolithic stone stairs wind directly behind it. Low grasses are planted around the boulder, in keeping with the manicured gardens typical of the neighborhood. The landscape to the rear of the lot is left raw and wild, with rock outcroppings that nature can overtake in time.