New York City studio SPAN Architects has completed a remote retreat in Maine on a property that includes a replica of a traditional Chinese tea house and gardens.
The home is located on Maine's rugged coast, overlooking the waters of Western Bay. Encompassing roughly 200 acres (80.9 hectares) of land, the residence serves as a retreat for a New York City couple.
The house was built on a property on the Maine coastline
The property once belonged to American socialite Brooke Astor, who gained an early interest in China through her travels as a child when her father served in the US military. Her secluded Western Bay property served as a getaway for her and close acquaintances, where she built a traditional Chinese pavilion and tea house. Its current owners first engaged Karen Stonely and Peter Pelsinski of SPAN Architecture several years ago for an apartment in Manhattan. They chose to work with the architects again to restore the property's existing tea house and pavilion, as well as create a new guest house and primary house for the owners, their family, and friends.
A Chinese pavilion on the site was renovated as part of the work
"The meandering garden and structures by late architect Robert Patterson have been meticulously restored and modernised," said SPAN Architecture. "SPAN's larger masterplan for the property incorporates these accessory structures ? the historic, Chinese-styled cottage now called the Pool Pavilion and the Teahouse as it was ? to compl...