2019 Excellence in Specialty Building or Room Design Honorable Mention: Guest Barn

Photography courtesy of Marcus Gleysteen

Marcus Gleysteen and Maggie Mink of Marcus Gleysteen Architects in Lincoln, Massachusetts
(781) 259-0876
mgaarchitects.com

The Guest Barn near Lake Sunapee has a first floor used primarily for off-season boat storage while its upper level serves as guest accommodations. The slatted barn doors add protection as well as create a lantern-like effect in the evening when the Guest Barn is occupied. The second floor is arranged to capture views of the lake and forest as well as connect visitors to the site. The curved plaster ceiling ridge—inspired by the designs of Finnish-architect Alvar Aalto—brightens the space and provides continuity and softness as it runs, uninterrupted, into the third-floor sleeping loft.

Judges said: The vision of a New England rural vernacular is offered by the fine implementation of form, materials, textures, colors and details. This guesthouse clearly displays a multi-layered dialogue with the wooded site and is reflected in the interior organic spaces.