Berke’s early design for the project was simple and modest, in keeping with Brown’s initial concept, but she notes that his vision for the project appeared to change as it moved forward. “One of the things Richard [Reinhardt] and I talked about was returning to that vision of modern simplicity,” Berke says. “I want the pleasure of redesigning the house. It’ll be as simple and modern as the first one, but we’re going to rework it. Richard is talking to different suppliers, and he and I are particularly excited about using materials that weren’t even on the market when I was working with Coco all those years ago, with maybe a keener eye to sustainability. That’s where the real opportunity lies.”
Meyers appreciated the opportunity to create a new design as well. In retrospect, she says, “the house we did was a really beautiful sculpture, but it was an uninhabitable house.” During the period of Brown’s leadership of the development, there were few real guidelines, particularly in terms of hard costs. Although this allowed architects the freedom to create elevated designs in a development format, the lack of design standards also introduced some problems, according to Meyers. “People designed things that didn’t make any sense,” she says.
Though Schwartz says he initially felt left out, joining the project now has its advantages. “I think what’s interesting for me coming in later is that I can see as much what not to do as what to do,” he says. “You’re really in the woods at Sagaponac, so you have to figure out how to live in the trees. I think most of the other houses have made their own landscape, and I want to use the existing landscape for living in the trees.”
“Richard [Reinhardt]’s vision is much more sensible,” Meyers adds. “And every design that comes through under his leadership has to have the high level of idealism of the original project.”
Reinhardt & O’Brien also bring a much-improved business model to the project, Berke believes—one focused on a streamlined process and getting the development done.
great expectations
Although times are tough, even in the Hamptons, the development team and architects are confident the Houses at Sagaponac will continue to draw interest and buyers.
“I actually believe these houses will have greater value, given the diverse architects who have played a part in the development, and because you have very like-minded clients who come together around design,” says Henry Smith-Miller, RA, partner of New York City-based Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects. The firm’s Sagaponac house was completed in 2008 and earned a residential architect Design Award of merit earlier this year.
Meyers seconds that view, while acknowledging the difficulties of the current housing market. “Houses at Sagaponac is a very aspirational place,” she says. “As a homeowner, you’re surrounded by many other intellectual people who have the same interest in architecture, and who all appreciate and have the ability to afford great art.”
John Keenen of Keenen/Riley Architects thinks the project will age well as houses are added, vegetation fills in, and owners take up residence. “Historically speaking, I think Coco Brown really had a vision and was kind of courageous to undertake it, because it takes a project like this a long time to mature,” he says. “The idea of curating a project of this scale and ultimately being able to see most or all of [the houses] built in relation to each other and the landscape could have quite a significant cultural impact in terms of residential architecture.”
ventures in vermont
The developers have so much faith in Houses at Sagaponac’s success, in fact, that they are planning a new project in Ludlow, Vt., near the Okemo Mountain Resort, that will be called East End Modern. This new project also will focus on modern, modestly scaled and priced residences, with an emphasis on energy independence.
Affordability of design will play an even greater role in the Vermont development, and the lessons learned from Houses at Sagaponac will be invaluable. “Vermont is a completely different atmosphere as far as affordability, even though [the development] will be in a ski resort,” Reinhardt says. “We can’t sell houses in the millions [there]; they’ll be priced in the hundreds of thousands.”
Instead of beginning the project with a group of chosen architects, Reinhardt says the development team will take its time and select architects as the project and housing markets evolve. “The housing industry is changing so quickly and dramatically—even since 2001 it’s changed dramatically. We’re going to pick and choose architects as we go along. That’ll be a lot more fun for us,” he adds.
Architecture firm Della Valle Bernheimer of Brooklyn, N.Y., led by Jared Della Valle, AIA, LEED AP, and Andrew Bernheimer, AIA, NCARB, has been tapped to design the first house for East End Modern. Though it is still in the earliest planning stages, Bernheimer says the development’s format could be semi-detached single-family houses arranged in clusters. “We’re looking at doing a prototypical unit and adapting it depending on the site and how the terrain changes on the land,” he explains. “It wouldn’t be modular, but it would be replicated a few times and altered accordingly for the site.”
Reinhardt also has been working on a spec house in Vermont designed by architecture students at the Pratt Institute, which residential architect covered in May this year, here.