House at Irish Point for Steven Rockefeller
Identifier:
1241 
Title:
House at Irish Point for Steven Rockefeller
Subject:
Description:
Bridge sketch, sketches, plot plan, floor plans, elevations, mechanical
Roc's Comments:
Steven Rockefeller and his wife, Dorie, asked me to design the Gilley Museum (see 118). We had a great time working together on that building and in 1990 (when we were contemplating moving back to MDI from Philadelphia) I received a letter asking if I would design him a new home on Swans Island. Steven had remarried Barbara Bellows and they wanted a summer home built on the land that Steven had simply camped on and cleared the lower branches of the spruce trees to maintain the meadow, encourage the breezes and discourage the mosquitoes. When I asked Steven and Barbara what they were looking for in a summer house Barbara said in her charming southern accent " Roc, we like a summer house with dogs and kids and screen doors that slam." I knew exactly what she meant and prepared a series of pencil sketches that zeroed in on a really nice white clapboard farmhouse indicative of the Greek and Gothic revival structures found all over Swans and the western side of Mt Desert Island. We went thru very few iterations before arriving at the final design. The house purposely has 4 different exterior elevations. The entry or East elevation is the regional revival style facade, the South elevation has a more "craftsman/sea captains" appearance. The West elevation is meant to be the " summer house cottage" side when viewed from the water. And the North side is our current, funky Downeast side. There is a wonderful big bathtub that aligns with a big southern window looking out over the pink sand beach. This place and the clients are all a very happy memory.
Roc's Comments:
Steven Rockefeller and his wife, Dorie, asked me to design the Gilley Museum (see 118). We had a great time working together on that building and in 1990 (when we were contemplating moving back to MDI from Philadelphia) I received a letter asking if I would design him a new home on Swans Island. Steven had remarried Barbara Bellows and they wanted a summer home built on the land that Steven had simply camped on and cleared the lower branches of the spruce trees to maintain the meadow, encourage the breezes and discourage the mosquitoes. When I asked Steven and Barbara what they were looking for in a summer house Barbara said in her charming southern accent " Roc, we like a summer house with dogs and kids and screen doors that slam." I knew exactly what she meant and prepared a series of pencil sketches that zeroed in on a really nice white clapboard farmhouse indicative of the Greek and Gothic revival structures found all over Swans and the western side of Mt Desert Island. We went thru very few iterations before arriving at the final design. The house purposely has 4 different exterior elevations. The entry or East elevation is the regional revival style facade, the South elevation has a more "craftsman/sea captains" appearance. The West elevation is meant to be the " summer house cottage" side when viewed from the water. And the North side is our current, funky Downeast side. There is a wonderful big bathtub that aligns with a big southern window looking out over the pink sand beach. This place and the clients are all a very happy memory.
Creator:
Roc Caivano
Date:
1990-1992
Medium:
39 mylar, 63 tracing paper, 31 paper, 1 diazo
Pages:
136 sheets
Condition:
great
Collection:
Object ID:
ADC 0243 ROC
Location:
FF D-14
Place:
Swans Island
Street:
Irish Point, Swans Island
Citation
Roc Caivano, “House at Irish Point for Steven Rockefeller,” Northeast Harbor Library, accessed April 25, 2024, https://nehl.digitalarchive.us/items/show/247.Item 1241