Gable Archipelago
ABOUT
Client Private Residence
Typology Residential
Location Coastal Maine
Year 2019
Design Team Riley Pratt, Matthew O’Malia, Alex Rosenthal
Contractor GO Logic
Consultants
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti; Landscape Architect: Richardson and Associates
EUI -13 kBTU/SF/yr
Awards 2024 AIA Maine Citation Award
This year-round Maine coastal residence represents a contemporary response to a ruggedly beautiful site and a rich local building culture. Referencing vernacular connected buildings, the house assembles three gabled forms—holding an owner’s bedroom suite with an office loft above, a guest suite, and a shared living space—around a central kitchen with a flat, vegetated roof.
Each of the building’s connected pavilions establishes its own relationship with the hilltop site, with its varied topography and ocean views. The interlocking geometry also helps define and shelter the buildings’ main entry and a broad south-facing deck. The whole, including the foundation and decks, is clad in horizontal siding that unites the separate building forms in a single sculpted mass firmly rooted to the earth.
The building’s exterior materials reflect traditions shaped by the rigors of a coastal environment. The unfinished white cedar siding and standing-seam metal roof will weather gracefully, give long service, and require minimal maintenance. The building shell follows Passive House practice in insulation, air sealing, and glazing performance. A grid-tied 16 kW photovoltaic array generates enough electricity to offset not only the house’s net demand, but also that of the owner’s two additional nearby properties.
