Moments of Absolute Awe

Kevin ten Brinke

Kevin ten Brinke’s journey from childhood to architect began when a high school sports injury changed the course of his life. Cooped up inside and unable to sleep, he started drawing at night and paid the utmost attention to “how light strikes things.”

Most recently, ten Brinke’s firm, KT2 Design, joined forces with New London-based Bonin Architects & Associates in a strategic alliance. Assuming the helm as principal architect, ten Brinke is enchanted by the beauty of New Hampshire and seeks to bring clients “moments of awe.” He sat down with New Hampshire Home to talk about abstract expressionism, theoretical physics and golden light.

Where does your design story begin?

We were a family of six living in a 40-foot by 20-foot Campanelli ranch. My parents decided to renovate the house and double its size. They were the ultimate do-it-your-selfers, and my father had been a builder earlier in his career. My job throughout high school was construction.

Glass carves out these traditional volumes with a modern twist, framing breathtaking valley views from every corner. PHOTO BY JUDE DALLAIRE

I was a high-school athlete. Recovering from an injury during my sophomore year, I couldn’t sleep and was having some light sensitivity. I started drawing to pass time, which led to a deep appreciation for not only the beauty of art but also for what it brings to life. It is one of the things that forces you to slow down and to be in the moment.

What did you learn in that space of slowing down?

Bonin Architects’ Kevin ten Brinke and Paul Larocque on site at one of the firm’s Lake Sunapee projects.

You go through stages in life. You’re a young, physical athlete, playing soccer, hockey, lacrosse, just doing your thing. You rarely slow down or recognize the diversity in life. As I got into art, I started to appreciate things from a different angle, noticing the beauty of how the light strikes. That led me to become an armchair theoretical physics enthusiast, learning how things form and what they truly are at their most base level, and I began digging deeper to find out.

Who are your artistic influences?

My top inspiration is Santiago Calatrava. He’s an architect and structural engineer. Architects are always weighing form and function in design. His work is beautifully complex; it’s sculptural, taking something extremely complex and presenting it in a simplistic, incredibly striking fashion. It’s both functional and aesthetic at the same time. From an artistic standpoint, I’ve always been a Van Gogh guy.

What lights you up in a client’s vision?

Built into the hillside, the home uses simple forms and warm finishes to blend with the lakefront setting. PHOTO BY JOHN W. HESSION

My major design inspiration is nature, having started in the industry in landscape architecture. My major goal in any project is understanding what the site is giving me and how I can explore that so our clients are never far from experiencing the natural world. Every time you circulate through your home is an opportunity — a perfectly placed opening to gaze at a beautiful specimen tree that’s been sculpted over time by the natural world, or to happen upon that quiet space, like a window seat or corner of the house next to an open win-dow, and listen to a nearby stream.

We’ve talked a lot about light. How does it inform your architectural work?

This design uses a NanaWall to create an easy indoor–outdoor flow and to frame long views of the lake from the main living spaces. PHOTO BY JOHN W. HESSION

Because we’re in the northern hemi-sphere, southern exposure is gold. The sun is a hot commodity. For the seven months of cold that we have, we’re pin-ing for that moment when we can walk on a floor that the sun has baked and feel it through our socks, or being able to sit in a chair and have that sunlight warm you up. We have heat, but the sun can’t be replaced. It gives you these moments of expression, like the dappled sunlight through leaves that changes when the wind blows — these are simple moments of awe when you’ll stop in your tracks and think, “My God, that’s the most beau-tiful thing I’ve seen today.”

What advice do you have for clients?

We know we can design a beautiful house that grows with your family, but it’s important to understand that we’ll be spending the next three years working through this together. Our main goal is to discover what makes you tick, how you live or want to live your life. It’s a beautiful process; when done right it builds lasting trust, so you not only enjoy the process, but your home and environment become a true reflection of you and your dreams.

What do you love about working in New Hampshire?

I was born and raised here for a good part of my life, then my family moved to chase jobs. Coming back and setting

roots, there’s so much about New Hamp-shire that I now get to see for all of its beauty. Driving around the eastern side of Winnipesaukee where you’re elevated 300 feet above the water and you get this vista of mountains and lakes, or rounding Franconia Notch, or being deep in the recesses of Sunapee and driving through the mountains and it not stopping, you realize this is New Hampshire. It’s almost secretive in that way.