New Hope, PA 2020 Studio Hillier was commissioned to design a home along the Delaware River in Bucks County. The working couple, with two school-age children, was looking to fulfill their dream of living on the water and leaving the noise of the city behind. They landed on a property where a three-story 1930’s-era cottage stood facing the river. They oblong seven-acre site lies flat and is bordered by the river to the southeast and the Delaware Canal to the northwest.
Due to the flooding along the Delaware over the last fifteen years, a building moratorium had been put in place and new construction in a flood plain would require multiple variances. However, there was another option: a new structure would be permitted, providing it conformed to the existing building footprint – 900 square feet – with no structural elements or soil disturbance to exceed.
As a result, the entire residence, supported by three 14-foot high Vierendeel trusses, is listed above the flood level and cantilevered over a concrete pedestal occupying the footprint of the original cottage. The poured concrete base contains a garage for three cars and a double height entrance foyer with a winding staircase and elevator. In the event of a flood, vents open to allow water to pass through these spaces.
The house has panoramic views of the riverscape from two entertainment decks and through full height windows from the kitchen/great room and the primary bedroom suite with two bathrooms. Spaces on the back of the house including three other bedrooms, an exercise room, and a teen “hangout” room, enjoy framed views into the surrounding woods.
Conceived as a floating box alongside the Delaware River, the house experiences radical fluctuations in its environment in tandem with the river’s ever-changing microclimate. Unique combinations of air temperature, water temperature, humidity, wind speed, and daylight create a fluid dialogue between the home and its surroundings. Spring mornings, for example, tend to be clear with bright, warm daylight while Fall mornings are usually foggy with cooler-toned light. However, daily and hourly changes in the river allow occupants to experience a myriad of its conditions.
Perhaps the biggest success for the client and the community is the project’s minimal impact on its surrounding environment, as approved by the National Park Service. All trees and plantings on the site were preserved and zoning dictated there would be no disturbance to the soil beyond the original cottage’s footprint, not even for columns or piles. Furthermore, Studio Hillier had to prove that the new home would not block view corridors to the river any more than the original three-story cottage. The result is a home nestled into its lush surroundings with an intimate connection to the riverscape.
Builder Gordon H. Baver, Inc.
Photography Julian Edgren
Recognition 2024 International Architecture and Design Awards – Bronze Medal in the Architecture Category for Individual Home Architecture
