Portanimicut- a new modern Cape Cod House in Orleans MA

Our clients for this house love Cape Cod and its traditional architecture, but they did not want a traditional house. Our solution was a 90 degree twist on the “half house” idea. We took the traditional gable roofed Cape and split it the long way, creating two shed roofs, then pulled the two buildings apart and rotated them slightly to create an inviting entry courtyard. A shed roofed porch connects the house and garage, and a deck wraps around the back of the porch. The angled entry reaches out on to the porch to welcome the visitor. Inside, this small architectural gesture blurs the distinction between the house and the porch and deck, making the living space feel much larger than its compact footprint. Across from the entry, two banks of windows meet at an outside corner to define the sitting area. A vaulted ceiling, skylights, and the open rail of the loft above expand the space upward. The rugged industrial stair and cable rail, exposed Parallam beam and cable ties, birch flooring, doors and cabinets, and clean white walls fulfill the client’s wish for a house that is “bold, simple, geometric and minimal”, yet also inviting and comfortably scaled.