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ARCHITECT MICHAEL LOMONT DESIGNED AN ECO-FRIENDLY HOUSE IN SAGAPONACK FOR HIS FAMILY WITHOUT SACRIFICING COMFORT

Architect Michael Lomont, a senior project manager with Stelle Architects in Southampton, believes in green design—and comfort. The 3,000-square-foot Sagaponack house he completed last summer for his family—featuring high ceilings, abundant natural light and strong connections between indoors and out—stands as proof that luxury living needn't be sacrificed when reducing one's environmental footprint.

The design was inspired by its site: a private, 1.25-acre wooded lot with a 15-acre preserve to the south and a surrounding landscape dotted with farms and agricultural buildings. Admiring the simplicity of these structures, Lomont created his two-story house from simple geometrical forms: a pair of rectangular volumes with gabled roofs positioned perpendicular to each other. The whole is oriented to take advantage of the southern sky, which provides natural light and passive heating, but Lomont also left many trees on the lot to minimize the sun's scorching summer rays. The first floor is built slightly below grade, which conveniently shelters it from chilly seasonal winds and makes it feel cozier, like a natural part of the landscape.

Inside, spaces are grouped by function. On the second level the bedrooms, bathrooms and study all face east. "It's the morning portion of the home, and we wanted a lot of light at that time of day," Lomont says. Below the bedrooms, on the first floor, are a large guest suite that can be closed off when no one's visiting and a playroom, laundry room and garage.

The public space on the first floor is the real attention-getter—an open rectangular space containing the kitchen, dining room and living room. A south-facing wall of windows lets the sunlight stream in; during the nippy winter months the concrete floor absorbs the sun's heat and releases it at night.