BREUER HOUSE
Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair remains one of the most recognizable objects of the modern furniture movement and is still in production nearly a century later. Breuer’s architectural language scaled effortlessly. From the sculptural gravitas of the Whitney Museum in New York City to the commanding presence of the Campus Center University of Massachusetts Amherst. Breuer became deeply embedded in New England’s intellectual and cultural landscape. He introduced a distinctly modern home to Andover. Defined by clean geometry, honest materials and a disciplined sense of structure. The surrounding landscape, originally shaped by Dan Kiley, extended that clarity into the terrain. Our role was to honor the home’s modernist roots while shaping a setting that aligns with how the homeowner lives today.
The simplicity of the design was created with a restricted palette that compliments the materials and color tones of the house. Orthogonal lines pull from the architecture out into the landscape, unifying the two. A metal runnel with stacked stone visually connects the front entry to the primary bedroom garden, while further highlighting a unique feature in Breuer’s architecture.
Moving to a space formed for privacy and respite, the zen garden off the primary bedroom offers an outdoor shower, water feature, and minimalistic planting. Arranged boulders, undulating moss plant beds, bluestone and gravel are mediums in which we used to paint a calming atmosphere extending from this unique home. To highlight the tranquil nature of the site, a boulder was hand carved to create a recirculating water feature that can be enjoyed from both the garden and primary bedroom. A wall of glass separates the bedroom from the spa-like garden, blurring the lines of architecture and landscape.
