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Location: Southampton, NY, United States
Year: Expected 2024
Area: 3,777 SF (350 m2)
Client: Ali and Lori Tamsen
Budget: Undisclosed
Architect: Fernando Fisbein Architect
Renderings: BS ARQ
Project Awards: 2023 Architizer A+Awards, USA, 2021 AIA Tri-State Design Award, USA, 57th AIA Long Island Archi Award, USA
Press Distribution: v2com

About Studio

Fernando Fisbein Architect was established in New York in 2020. The practice’s work is devoted to the concept and details of every project in order to achieve solutions that are architecturally, socially, and intellectually meaningful.

Always mindful of context, understood in the broadest sense, Fernando Fisbein Architect strives to reinforce a sense of belonging in its projects — belonging to the people, to the place, and to the moment that we live in — embracing diversity and history while expanding the range of contemporary expression.

Fernando Fisbein is a licensed architect in the United States and Brazil and a member of the American Institute of Architects. The studio is a certified MBE in New York State.

Fernando holds a Masters in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, New York, US, a Masters in Art History from Escola de Música e Belas Artes do Paraná, Brazil, and a Bachelors in Architecture and Urbanism from the Universidade Católica do Paraná, Brazil.

Prior to starting his own practice, Fernando worked under the mentorship of Peter Eisenman, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Enrique Norten, Jaime Lerner, and Marcos Bertoldi, collaborating on groundbreaking projects of multiple scales, complexities, and processes.

This image shows the living and dining area; the house features glass windows that provide views of the outside.

The reading room between the outdoor living rooms is visible in this picture.

This demonstrates the house's extensive outside living areas, which are in close proximity to the green surroundings and nearby bodies of water. — This demonstrates the house’s extensive outside living areas, which are in close proximity to the green surroundings and nearby bodies of water.

Fernando Fisbein Architect presents Tamsen House, located on a narrow piece of coastal land between two ponds in Southampton, New York. While the program is typical of houses in the area, the environmental challenges of the site directly inform the design approach. Due to flood risk, any new structure in the region is required to not only be lifted above a high base flood elevation but also to meet strict zoning guidelines.

The firm’s design approach consists of introducing a new datum to the project by means of an elevated platform. Below this structure, non-habitable spaces, such as a garage and storage areas, are located and enclosed with permeable partitions to allow for the free flow of water in case of flooding, as well as to establish a visual connection from the front of the lot to the pond at the rear.

Above the platform, a monolithic volume houses the residential program. While its sloped roof resembles vernacular constructions, the cladding is conceived in zinc panels to increase resistance against the harsh coastal climate and reduce harmful rainwater run-off. The house balances protective resilience with a sense of porosity.

Taking advantage of the elevation offered by the new datum, a series of terraces are carved from the upper volume, connecting north and south views, and creating large outdoor living spaces in direct relation with the leafy grounds and adjacent bodies of water. Indigenous plants are preserved as much as possible to improve the ecological value of the property and reduce requirements for irrigation.

This project seeks to be an infrastructure for environmental awareness. The firm’s sustainable approach toward the minimal disturbance of the existing ground, resilient constructive system and materials, and maximization of pre-fabrication investigates the potential of establishing a larger framework of ecological decision-making, a prototype for positively contributing to the built environment.