Putnam Valley Lake House | Otto Ruano AIA+NCARB | Principal, LEAD

Putnam Valley Lake House
Putnam Valley, New York
Square Feet: 1200
Type: New Build / Reclaim Renovation Hyrbrid

Located atop a rocky hill overlooking a lake in Putnam Valley, an existing house built in the early 1900s was carefully disassembled from the exterior inward. The goal of preserving the interior framing of the house, while providing it with a new open floor plan, takes advantage of the view of the lake and maintains the local charm and old world vernacular of the house.
A new large format 9’x13’ set of bi-folding doors allows the interior space to spill out onto the porch to extend the living area for large gatherings. This allows for stunning views of the lake & allows the natural breeze off of the lake to flow through the house keeping the interior cool throughout the hot summer months. The porch further enhances the parti by pulling the existing roof line outward to create a roof covered porch allowing the house to appear as if it were gently telescoping outward toward the lake, much like a camera lens zooming in to to take advantage of a view.
To achieve the interior preservation of the framing, a new cedar ship-lapped envelope and framing members wraps around the framing to create a new strong durable exterior that was then fully insulated. The roof membrane was completely removed, leaving only the original framing beams in place. The interior framing members were preserved and a new roof was framed atop the existing, thickening it to be insulated. The new roof installation allowed for the integration of new sky lights that allow for the interior to be bathed in gentle sunlight. What was once only a summer get away is transformed into a year round retreat.