Deliberate Design

Text by Laurie LaMountain with Craig Whitaker

The architect should strive continually to simplify; the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty. —frank lloyd wright

In the case of a beautiful Maine farmhouse, the architecture is almost always the result of “additive” changes over time. Changes made by new inhabitants adapt the building to their own needs. Often no architects were involved but everything still seems right. The exterior doors are located in places where snow won’t block access to the building, and the materials, almost always indigenous, also seem to be right. The component parts are arranged so that the space between the house, ell and barn make protected outside spaces. The original but still useful forms become a background for the layering of new changes. In part, vernacular architectures (e.g. those buildings designed without architects) seem right because the designs evolve through a match of “form” and “use.” Employing an architect to design a building today often produces a very different kind of result — one that is more singular and often lacks the modest but timeless character of a non-architect designed building.

Craig Whitaker is an architect whose design philosophy developed out of an interest in vernacular architecture. The philosophy he employs at Mills Whitaker Architects has two related components. First, the design process must result in an objective match between form and use specific to the context in which they are employed. In other words, the design must meet the stated requirements of the owner. The second component has an explicit standard — each design decision has to build on the previous one. As in math, the final design should be a reflection of the cumulative sum of consciously made positive decisions. The sum of good principled decisions is a building that appears to have that “everything just seems right” quality that makes vernacular architectures so essentially beautiful. With this philosophy in mind, Craig and his colleague, Laura Gill, were inspired to receive a commission for a new vacation house in Maine from a client committed to the same principled process.

The house’s organization is based on an asymmetrical H-shaped design, with the entry and kitchen on the left and the living room and study on the right side. Two steeply sloping gabled roofs cap each of the left and right sides, while a lower sloping roof at the middle ties everything together.

The front door opens into a large entrance area complete with bench, coat hooks and two refurbished folding chairs from Yankee Stadium that were bought for a song when the stadium was renovated in 1973. Behind the entrance area is a large, light-filled kitchen that would arouse the envy of any serious cook. Beside the entrance area, a staircase switches back up to the second floor, with the guest bedroom and bath located above the kitchen. The connecting center of the H consists of the dining room on the lower level and a long hallway on the second level. In some ways, it also serves as an in-between space that differentiates the public from the more private side of the house.

The right or southern section, containing the living room and master bedroom, is subtly offset toward the pond—hence the asymmetrical nature of the H-shaped plan. This private side, because of where it is in relation to the trees, is protected from the southern sun. Three tall windows were placed on the east wall, looking toward the pond. In addition two more windows, one to the north and one to the south, were used so that the room receives three-sided light—not unlike the light of a bay window. The use of these five windows creates a sense of transparency and connection to the woods beyond. Behind the living room but connected to it, is a sitting room that serves as a more intimate gathering space. The master bedroom suite, complete with office, is above the living and sitting rooms. A barn door hung on hardware sourced from an old barn in Cumberland further emphasizes the transition from public to private space. In her book The Not So Big House, Sarah Susanka acknowledges the importance of creating these kinds of separate spaces. “When there is a proper balance between public and private places, something quite natural happens. All the spaces in the house begin to be used every day. The patterns of life are no longer constrained by the floorplan; they are expressed by it,” states Susanka.

It’s not a huge house, but the careful and conscious assignment of space makes it seem larger than it is. Craig stresses Mills Whitaker’s qualitative versus quantitative approach to design. In the end a keen understanding of different requirements for each space made the design possible. The details of the house are exceptional and complement the logical organization of the plan. The vision of those involved in its design and use are apparent in so many ways. From the many built-ins that free up floor space to the ash window seat that runs the length of the upstairs hallway to the laundry room that is completely hidden and yet totally accessible, intelligent design is incorporated throughout.

Craig points out that they always try to arrive at designs that are both elegant and purposeful. This sense of purpose is enhanced by the fact that the house has been built as a timber-framed structure. The choice of such a system would at first appear to be restrictive because the location of partitions is largely determined by the location of the timber frame’s columns and beams, but through the use of a differentiated (or varied) grid for the columns the frame’s layout doesn’t limit the overall layout. A 2x6-inch subfloor built on top of the second floor timber framing separates the first from the second floors and provides an interstitial space for piping, sound insulation and recessed lighting.

Timber framer Andy Buck, who cut the Douglas Fir frame over a period of two months, describes it as having actually been like cutting two 3-bent house frames that are connected. The dining room and upstairs hallway are also timber framed, but the roof above them is conventionally framed, providing an enclosed space to house mechanical systems. It’s an unusual hybrid approach that marries aesthetic and practicality. While the rooms on the first level are made distinctive by their eleven-foot ceilings, the upstairs rooms are sheltered by the steeply pitched (24/12) gable roofs. Windows in two shed dormers allow for more natural light to enter the rooms that
are nestled under the gable roofs. Room and furniture size design decisions impart a sense of spaciousness to each room. A built-in dresser in the master bedroom
that occupies space below the linen closet in the master bath is just one example of multi-use shared space.

Another creative use of space is the hidden laundry room in the hallway that translates to a bump-out in the guest bedroom. The untrained eye doesn’t detect the borrowing of space.“I’d have to say [this] house was perhaps the most thoughtfully and elegantly designed, and skillfully executed homes I’ve been involved with,” says Andy Buck. He is quick to credit Craig and builder Bob Critchfield for that, but his Doug fir frame also exhibits all of these traits. It’s the exoskeleton that provides the framework for all that is within. Instead of working around the dictates of the frame, Bob worked with it. A built-in bureau in the walk-in closet sits snugly within posts and beams as though it was meant to be there. A wet bar tucked at the end of the living room was custom built to accommodate a sink made by Wiltjer Pottery of Waterford, Maine. The three-season porch off the living room is accessed through French doors that sit on a granite sill. Every where the eye wanders there is something to reward it.

Craig Whitaker, a principal at Mills Whitaker Architects, has a keen interest in modern art, nature and vernacular architectures that was strengthened during his studies in Italy as part of a University of Washington architecture program. Following that, he attended architecture school at MIT. Today Mills Whitaker Architects LLC specializes in historic preservation, religious property restoration, multiuse facility planning and residential design. Current projects include the Adaptive Reuse of the St. Lawrence Arts Center, a 400 seat theatre on Munjoy Hill, and the Restoration of the Winslow Homer Studio on Prouts Neck for the Portland Museum of Art.