We’ll admit to flinching a little when we hear the term “tear-down,” but some older houses simply don’t merit the investment required for a major upgrade. That was the case with this GO Logic project near the shore in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The original 1950s-era house was well sited and appealingly modest in scale, but its light construction, compartmentalized spaces, stingy windows, and generally rough condition made it a poor candidate for remodeling. So we salvaged what we could—in this case, the foundation—and executed a fresh design aimed at delighting its owners with generous, open interiors, large windows, and a fuller engagement with the outdoors. Now nearing completion, the new house represents a distinct alternative to the oversize trophy houses that gave tear-downs a bad name in the first place.
Zoning setbacks restricted the new building to the same footprint as its predecessor, and a strict height limit applied as well, but we embraced those constraints, allowing them to help us shape a space- and energy-efficient contemporary house that optimizes the experience of its extraordinary location.
The building’s new stepped profile reduces the sense of overall height and helps it tuck into the surrounding topography and vegetation. Opting for a low-pitched shed roof allowed us to stack three stories in place of the original two, gaining enough square footage to insert a one-car garage at ground level without reducing overall living space. We updated the original house’s split-level entry, providing guests with a dramatic ascent to the main-floor living space and its panoramic views of Casco Bay and the open Atlantic. All three levels enjoy direct access to the outdoors, including the penthouse-like master suite, which opens onto a rooftop deck with a prospect even more dramatic than that of the living room deck below.
Those open views run both ways, of course, exposing the house to winter storms off the ocean and to harsh weather at any time of year. We fortified the structure by wrapping its insulated 2×6 exterior walls with a continuous 4-inch layer of EPS foam insulation, installing super-efficient triple-glazed German windows, and meticulously air-sealing the entire building envelope. Deep roof trusses accommodate 24” (R-80) of loose-fill cellulose insulation. A heat-recovery ventilation system delivers tempered fresh air to every room, even when the house is buttoned up tight. Rounding out the energy package is a 10 kW photovoltaic array that helps power the house and an electric vehicle charging station.
Completion is just weeks away, but at this stage we think the house makes a strong case for prioritizing quality of design, attention to building performance, and sensitivity to context over quantity of square footage.
