Another great design from the series dedicated to the recipients of the 2009 AIA Housing Award.

The house treads lightly on its lush site, and evokes the feeling of living outdoors. The long, one-room-deep floor plan gives each room windows and porches overlooking Shem Creek. A modern interpretation of Charleston’s historic shutters provides protection from harsh weather and summer sun.

Operable windows provide natural cross-ventilation and lighting. Approaching the house under a canopy of moss-draped live oaks and up a gentle ramp, the view of the marsh appears like an element in a Japanese painting

The panels can protect the house during any season. In their horizontal (open) position, they shade the house. Closed, they create a shaded, protected porch.

The Jury for the 2009 AIA Housing Award had the following comments: "Wonderful moving architecture! The manner in which it transforms the house from a vertically oriented spaced to a lateral space is wonderful— how the house can radically transform its character."

"The porch screens are a poetic response to the climate."

Project Details:

Project: Low Country Residence- Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Architect: Frank Harmon Architect
Owner: Joe Harmon, M.D.
Engineer: 4SE, Inc
General Contractor: Design Build Corporation

Material for this article courtesy of the AIA.

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