Sharon, Conn.
The Office of Peter Rose

Nature and the man-made join harmoniously at Peter Rose’s Art Studio and Residence

	Photo © Andy Bush

By Jane F. Kolleeny

The pace is slow in Sharon, Connecticut, a picturesque village in Litchfield County, located in the northwest corner of the state. Reminders of the area’s colonial past are evident in the covered bridges and mossy stone walls abundant there. Weathercock Farm, among the many old farms that dot the landscape, consists of a 100-acre tract of land with barns formerly used for livestock. Purchased by a couple and their teenage daughter in the late 1990s, the farm itself was easily revived with 100 Angus cattle, but the site lacked proper accommodations for the new homeowners.

The owners started work on their home by hiring Cambridge, Massachusetts, architect Peter Rose, AIA. While they began the design process with visions of white clapboard on the exterior, a material common in the residential architecture of New England, they ended up with concrete block, a choice that both surprised and delighted them.

A three-building compound emerged, consisting of a main house, an artist’s studio, and garage/guest quarters. As visitors turn onto the the property’s dirt road, they are greeted by the red barns of the farm and the wary gaze of the cattle. The road meanders up a hill, where a sequence of subtle gestures—a woodpile, a stone wall, a gravel drive—signal domesticity. Approaching from behind the buildings into one of two courtyards, visitors first see the garage/guest suite, then the art studio on the right, and the main house on the left. The ensemble rests comfortably on the edge of a grassy field, sitting back from the crest of a hill, “capturing the views but not getting in their way,” as one of the owners observed.

Along with the unexpected use of concrete block, the architect specified a lead-coated cooper roof, tongue-in-groove stained cedar siding, and two brick chimneys on the main house, all of which help the building blend with the muted hues of the landscape. The art studio and guest quarters pick up the theme. Visually, the group of buildings are so thoroughly rooted in the environment that they seem defined from without, rather than from within.

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the People Client Chris and Annette Clow Architect The Office of Peter Rose, Ltd. One Kendall Square, Building 1700 Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel 617.494.0202 fax 617.494.0404 www.opr1700.com Principal in charge: Peter Rose, AIA Engineer(s) Arup 955 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 www.arup.com Consultant(s) Landscape: Office of Dan Kiley East Farm, Charlotte, VT 05445 General contractor Dick Coon Contruction 374 East Road Seffield, MA 02157 Photographer(s) The Office of Peter Rose, Ltd. Anton Grassl Photography 617.261.7678 www.antongrassl.com Andy Bush 323.663.2227 Renderer(s) The Office of Peter Rose, Ltd. CAD system, project management, or other software used Autocad 2002 www.autodesk.com

the Products Windows/Doors All windows, doors, entrances, sliding doors: William Parry William Parry Window Company 201 Middle Road Chilmark, MA 02535 508.645.2202 Interior finishes Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: P&R Desjardins Menuiserie Mont Royal 631 Stenson Villa St. Laurent Montreal, Quebec Floor and wall tile: Beech planking, endgrain fir in kitchen by Caswell Flooring www.caswellplating.com Other Cement board by CemBonit www.cembritblunn.co.uk