Heirlooms to Live In: Homes in a New Regional Vernacular

A specific region’s environmental needs often lead to a regional vernacular architecture that embraces a common style. Yet, Hutker Architects, Inc., has designed over 200 homes in coastal New England that avoid a single style. The twenty- ve diverse residential projects in this book illustrate a process – not a preordained style. The common thread running through the Hutker projects is the use of the life equity principle: a home should generate social and emotional equity over time. The conversation between the architect and each client reveals the way to design and build this home once well to ensure positive and enduring social and emotional outcomes. A home with life equity provides for the owner’s long-term needs, both physical and psychological, uses materials best suited to the spaces needed, and accommodates ever-changing family arrangements. Hutker homes t clients so well, that they are rarely sold outside the families that build them. Whether small or large, owners treat these homes as heirlooms to be preserved and handed down to the next generation.