SPECIAL REPORT

EACH YEAR, the Peconic Chapter of the American Institute of Architects honors outstanding projects by firms in its region (the five towns of the North and South forks). The seven winning entries, announced in late 2009, all reveal the sheer ingenuity of architecture on the East End. Here, HC&G gets the lowdown on each design and asks about what to expect from the architecture world in the decade to come.

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“THE PRACTICE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AS WE GET MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WEB-BASED INTERACTIVE SOLUTIONS. HOUSES WILL BE SMARTER, CHEAPER AND MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT.”
— MAZIAR BEHROOZ, MB ARCHITECTS

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MAZIAR BEHROOZ, MB ARCHITECTS
Container
The directive: Create an Amagansett art studio for a client with a strict budget and a request that the space be kept under 700 square feet.
The solution: Use two side-by-side steel shipping containers on top of a nine-foot foundation wall. The interior ceiling height reaches 18 feet; a quiet workspace fills the second story. The staircase leading up from the cellar level has the potential to serve as a gallery hall.

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Hanger House
The directive: Create a residence with notable green features for a family in East Hampton.
The solution: Model the home after an airport hanger, creating a structure from insulated steel and triple-thermal glass with solar collectors, a green roof, geothermal heating and below-grade habitable space.
mbarchitecture.com

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