Brooklyn architecture firm Studio PHH has split this waterfront property in Princeton, New Jersey, into two halves connected by a dramatic atrium that offers woodland views through full-height glass walls.
Sited on the shores of Lake Carnegie, the home is named "La Clairière," which is French for "The Glade". The name references the large glazed space in the middle of the home, which separates two volumes on either side.
La Clairière is split into two halves by a glass volume
Completed in 2021, the home encompasses 7,800 square feet (725 square metres) and was completed as a full-time residence for a couple that often hosts visiting family.
"Nestled within a forest of large oaks on the shore of Carnegie Lake, the house sits like a monolith, split down the center allowing the landscape to run through its core," said Studio PHH founder Pierre-Henri Hoppenot. The double-height central space contains the home's main living areas, including the kitchen and dining room on the ground floor, which extend to the outdoors at the front and back of the home, and a mezzanine upstairs.
A dramatic spiral staircase connects the living room to a mezzanine above. Photograph is by Glen Gery
"With large window walls at each end, this light-filled 'void' connects back to the landscape on both sides, capturing the sunrise and sunset within the same space," Hoppenot said.
Horizontal wooden siding defines the walls of this expansive space, lending contrast...