Long Island house by Young Projects reimagines local barn architecture
A Long Island house by Young Projects, Six Square House combines traditional pitched forms with unexpected curves, drawing on local barn architecture

As you enter the Hamptons, if you aren’t too distracted by the bone-white beaches and cerulean waters, you’ll start catching glimpses of the farmhouses that populate the rural landscape in this part of America. Peppered across the clustered villages at the eastern end of Long Island, these houses hint at the area’s rich agricultural history.
Playing on the area’s vernacular, the New York-based practice Young Projects has reimagined the conventional barn as a bold structure in its latest project, Six Square House. Consisting of six gabled volumes, the elegant 3,500 sq ft family home features an eclectic mix of architectural expressions.
The plan is a ‘clustered grid, which sets up an interesting dialogue between the spaces’, says Bryan Young, the founder and principal of Young Projects. It’s a symmetric pattern of squares that intersect, leaving trilateral voids that invite nature into the scheme. Five of the tessellating modules collectively provide two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a porch, and living areas, and enclose a triangular courtyard, while the sixth sits away from the rest, accommodating a garage. Approaching the scheme from the polished concrete path, you’re greeted by two symmetrical gables.
These elevations are ‘a false introduction to the building’. As you walk around the house, the geometry departs from the traditional pitched form and transforms into a dynamic sculpture with sweeping curves. Despite appearing three-dimensionally complex, the more fluid portions of Six Square House were simple to construct. Made from entirely straight joints, the roof is a masterful sequence of ‘ruled surfaces’.
The six volumes are skillfully wrapped in a skin of charred Accoya timber, a dark slatted façade that contrasts perfectly with the bright Western red cedar of the central courtyard’s entertaining space. This accentuates the dichotomy between the external and internal elements. From the outside, one can read each module. However, inside, there is an unexpected sense of continuity. ‘It is a smooth, unfolding interior that is embraced by the complex geometry,’ explains Young. Internally, the form of the ceiling creates a harmonious fluidity. ‘As you move through the rooms, there is this sense of spatial ambiguity,’ he continues.
Having owned the plot for several years, the client was keen that the new building emphasize the foliage that has always defined the land. Taking this into account, Young Projects teamed up with the Minneapolis-based landscape specialists Coen + Partners to sensitively choreograph intricate scenes across the site. ‘In a way, you can read the house as a lens that looks back at the garden and begins to engage you with the surrounding context; a lens that allows you to experience the surrounding environment in a way that is structured and intentional,’ explains Young.
The outdoor porch carefully captures four ginkgos, while the master bedroom enjoys a direct view of a mature beech tree. The living room volume and its corner window look out onto an oak tree as the diagonal ridgeline directs your eyes towards the farmhouse. As you move through the kitchen, past the milled island, another ginkgo can be seen in the triangular court, reinforcing the sense of nature seen throughout the scheme.
A well-orchestrated Hamptons home that ‘pushes the potential of the vernacular into unknown territory’, Six Square House both successfully acknowledges existing typologies while at the same time providing something new and refreshing. It showcases the practice’s innovative approach to the creative process, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of Young’s work (which spans material research, furniture design and art installations) while challenging the architectural conventions of the Long Island house.
A version of this article first appeared in Wallpaper* 264, April 2021. Download the issue here
INFORMATION
- Alan Tansey - PhotographyPhotographer
-
Peek inside The Langham Venice as it takes shape on Murano island
We take a sneak peek into The Langham Venice by Matteo Thun & Partners set to open on Murano in 2024
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Aston Martin DB12 makes its debut, offering new interiors and a muscular look
Aston Martin gets the fundamentals right. The DB12 may look like a gentle evolution of the DB11, but under the skin it’s a very different car, a ‘Super Tourer’ with classic style and high technology
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2023: meet the House of the year and London’s best homes
The Don’t Move Improve 2023 winners have been revealed, chosen from a refined selection of 15 homes, as the judges announced the Home of the Year alongside seven more category gongs
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Texan family house foregrounds sports cars, secret spaces and fantastic finishes
Smitharc has shaped a formidable Texan family house in suburban Dallas, using courtyards and setbacks to create a series of intimate spaces within a substantial plot
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Compact Mount Washington house is designed for maximum impact
A Mount Washington house by Anonymous in Los Angeles makes the most of its views, steep site and small size
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
‘Living among the trees’ finds form in a Miami house design
The experience of ‘living among the trees’ takes centre stage in a Miami house by Strang Design
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah • Published
-
Extraordinary escapes: where would you like to be?
Peruse and lose yourself in these extraordinary escapes; there's nothing better to get the creative juices flowing than a healthy dose of daydreaming
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
LA’s ‘lost’ Lord House by Richard Neutra is brought back to life by Spatial Practice
Dora Chi and Erik Amir breathe new life into Lord House, an original design by Richard Neutra in Los Angeles
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
An off-grid cabin in Washington State opens up to a spectacular landscape
Ment Architecture’s off-grid cabin, Swift, offers volcanic views and solar-powered sylvan living from its clifftop site
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
This futuristic ski house is born of its sloped locale
A ski house with a contemporary twist, this is House at 9,000ft by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple in the Intermountain Region of Western USA
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Khanna Schultz’s House in Michigan is an exercise in balancing contrasts
House in Michigan by Khanna Schultz was conceived to fulfil contrasting needs – and does so with poise and efficiency
By Ellie Stathaki • Published