French Farmhouse Pavilion in Westchester County, NY

This new heavy-timber structure is an ancillary building near an existing French-style manor house built in the 1930s. The structure's design evokes a grouping of French farm buildings with three wings set around a central courtyard. One wing houses a family room with an open heavy- timber truss ceiling.  The central wing includes an indoor basketball half-court with an exercise mezzanine.  The third wing houses large pool with changing rooms with a guest suite above. Adjacent terraces, swimming pool ,spa, and tennis court complete the complex.

The heavy timber trusses support a SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) roof system made of thick foam insulation sandwiched between oriented strand board (OSB) roof sheathing and a pine plank ceiling finish. SIP panels are ideally paired with heavy timber trusses since they can span distance between the roof timbers. The walls of the structure are insulated with high-performance icynene, open-cell, spray-foam insulation creating a very tightly sealed Energy Star qualified building. Hydronic radiant tubing in the floors provide the heat in all areas except under the basketball court.

Photography by Gridley + Graves and Felhandler/Steeneken Architects

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