Winning Modern Cottage: Tidewater

Last week, we shared the winners of the 2022 Your Modern Cottage Design Awards.  And now we're taking a closer look at Tidewater by Randall Kipp Architecture, the winner of the New Modern Cottages category.  These are houses designed to take us away from the modern rush; provide a retreat for the families that gather there and provide a place where they can reconnect with each other. Houses submitted for this category were to be no more than 4,800 square feet.

Winning Cottage

Randall Kipp Architecture submitted the following project summary:

The property is approximately 350 acres of land in rural Virginia on what was a pre-Civil War plantation. The building site is bound on the north by wetlands, south by a classical formal garden, and is flanked on the east by the North River. The structure is approximately 3,800 square feet.

The Gallery

The concept is to anchor the building around a high ceiling space called the Gallery, which is a narrow space of 20 feet in width. All the secondary spaces nest adjacent to and around the Gallery. The notion is that it is a tall, transparent module allowing a view from the approach side of the house and out to the river beyond. 

There are two wings of the house: Master and Guest. The home is set on a plinth base to elevate it from tidal flooding and hurricanes.

The Landscape Architecture is of Asian influence, using boulders and indigenous plantings to focus energy to and lead guests to the front door, through the home, to the veranda, and the water beyond.

 "Nicely organized with a central gathering space that is thoughtfully flanked by two private bedroom wings. This layout creates two courtyards, public and private, that are knit beautifully into the surrounding natural landscape. By organizing the plan into three components, the large home is broken down into smaller scaled ‘cottages.’ Elegant glass details create uninterrupted views and connection to the gardens and the lake beyond.” ~ John Vetter, AIA, Vetter Architects, a judge for the 2022 YMC Design Awards

"Beautiful, stunning. It would be easy to imagine how this home responds to its owners. The designer successfully brought the outside in. Modern without being cold. Love how the structure frames the view at the front door. Well balanced, nicely proportioned. Open, yet still private. Well done."  ~ Scott Edmonston, AIA, SEA Studio, a judge for the 2022 YMC Design Awards

Photography by Maxwell MacKenzie