Modern Playhouse
David Sundberg/ESTO and Durston Saylor
Product Spec Sheet

ElementBrandProduct Name
ChairsB&B Italia
Wall LightsBEGA
ChairCassina
Exterior Curtain WallCrittall Windows
RugDAVID SHAW NICHOLLS
RoofEastern Metal Supply

Product Spec Sheet
Wall Lights
by BEGA
Chair
by Cassina
Exterior Curtain Wall

Modern Playhouse

Austin Patterson Disston Architects as Architects

Design Focus: An existing large house on an ample tract of rolling, wooded, rural land punctuated by numerous rocky outcroppings and surrounded by orchards and gardens set the tone of the project. The main house design is classic International Style with a white stucco exterior and flat roofs.


The clients, who have four young children and like to entertain, wanted a “playhouse” which would be separate and somewhat removed from the main house, yet easily accessible and feature an entertainment space with media facilities and an adjacent inglenook with fireplace and view of the adjacent rock outcropping for intimate conversations. The program also included an area for pool and ping-pong, etc., a crafts area, and a media workshop. The clients stipulated that the style of the “playhouse” be compatible with that of the main house and that the same exterior materials should be used. In addition there was a zoning requirement that the new footprint had to follow that of an existing guesthouse, which would be demolished. The interiors were to be informally laid out but simply and elegantly finished.


Design Precedents and Process: One precedent influencing the design was obviously the clients’ requirement that it reflect the style of the existing house. Another was the Italian Renaissance villa tradition with its origins in Roman times of the pleasure house, usually part of a garden, and having no practical purpose other than the giving of pleasure. Examples are pavilions in the gardens of the Villa Lante and Villa Caprarola, both by Vignola. Thus the project became associated in the designer’s mind with gardens and the processional experience of walking from house to playhouse became an important part of the design and is reflected in the elevated walkway (requested by the clients and connecting the playhouse with the second floor of the main house), steps ramp and meandering paths.


The overhanging steel roof unites the party room with the terrace outside and its asymmetric form relates the skewed axis of the guesthouse footprint with that of the main house. In addition to the other recreational functions mentioned above there is a tower lookout from which the whole scene can be surveyed.


The main floor interior spaces of the 2,793 s.f., playhouse completed in 2002 have Canadian elm floors with walls of cherry paneling and painted skim-coated wallboard. All cabinetwork, window and door casings are in cherry.


Specific Materials: Exterior: exposed painted steel structure, glass walls steel frame, white stucco to match existing residence, fieldstone terrace and wall; roof of lead-coated copper; observatory: teak deck with glass block floor. Interior: party room: Canadian elm floors, cherry wall paneling, cabinets and silk fabric walls; games and crafts room: vinyl tile floor and corkboard paneling; bath: concrete sink; fireplace: concrete surround.


Products Behind Projects
Product Spotlight
News
SPPARC completes restoration of former Victorian-era Army & Navy Cooperative Society warehouse
11 Dec 2024 News
SPPARC completes restoration of former Victorian-era Army & Navy Cooperative Society warehouse

In the heart of Westminster, London, the London-based architectural studio SPPARC has restored and r... More

Green patination on Kyoto coffee stand is brought about using soy sauce and chemicals
10 Dec 2024 News
Green patination on Kyoto coffee stand is brought about using soy sauce and chemicals

Ryohei Tanaka of Japanese architectural firm G Architects Studio designed a bijou coffee stand in Ky... More

New building in Montreal by MU Architecture tells a tale of two facades
10 Dec 2024 News
New building in Montreal by MU Architecture tells a tale of two facades

In Montreal, Quebec, Le Petit Laurent is a newly constructed residential and commercial building tha... More

RAMSA completes Georgetown University's McCourt School of Policy, featuring unique installations by Maya Lin
10 Dec 2024 News
RAMSA completes Georgetown University's McCourt School of Policy, featuring unique installations by Maya Lin

Located on Georgetown University's downtown Capital Campus, the McCourt School of Policy by Robert A... More

MVRDV-designed clubhouse in shipping container supports refugees through the power of sport
9 Dec 2024 News
MVRDV-designed clubhouse in shipping container supports refugees through the power of sport

MVRDV has designed a modular and multi-functional sports club in a shipping container for Amsterdam-... More

Archello Awards 2025 expands with 'Unbuilt' awards categories
9 Dec 2024 Archello Awards
Archello Awards 2025 expands with 'Unbuilt' project awards categories

Archello is excited to introduce a new set of twelve 'Unbuilt' project awards for the Archello Award... More

Kinderspital Zürich by Herzog & de Meuron emphasizes role played by architecture in the healing process
6 Dec 2024 News
Kinderspital Zürich by Herzog & de Meuron emphasizes role played by architecture in the healing process

The newly completed Universtäts - Kinderspital Zürich (University Children’s Hospita... More

Fonseka Studio crafts warm and uplifting medical clinic space in Cambridge, Ontario
5 Dec 2024 News
Fonseka Studio crafts warm and uplifting medical clinic space in Cambridge, Ontario

In Cambridge, Ontario, the Galt Health family medical clinic seeks to reimagine the healthcare exper... More