An abandoned quarry turned into a lake in New York has become the backdrop to a million-dollar mansion in a fascinating rehabilitation.
The Bedford Quarry, which is around an hour from New York, was abandoned for years before being naturally filled in as a lake.
It wouldn’t occur to most people use this site as a potential housing location but New York architect Steven Harris could not resist the chance to transform the quarry and surrounding area into new space.
Harris, speaking to Architectural Digest, said he could not resist the chance to work on the “extraordinary geological opportunity” to work with the quarry site.
“Many architects prefer working on nice flat buildable sites I’m much more interested in difficult sites,” he told AD.
“I looked at it as this extraordinary geological opportunity and the fact it had so much water in it and the vegetation and the trees were so beautiful.
“I wanted to make sure that the materials, the palette, the character of the house was responsive to the site.”
What can Australia learn from the project?
The project is one of the more interesting uses of a rehabilitated quarry.
A stunning video tour, shown on Architectural Digest, shows how the house uses the natural surrounds and unique environment provided by the abandoned quarry to create jaw-dropping views from inside the mansion.
The house uses floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the build to showcase the nature in the area.
The house features ecologically sustainable features including triple-glazed windows, improved waste management solutions and efficient energy solutions.
“If someone comes over to the house I would prefer that they not be wowed. I would prefer that they not know who the architect is. I would hope that there would be a kind of ease, serenity, comfort,” Harris told AD.
“If there were two adjectives for a project that are my greatest ambition, it’s for a project to appear effortless and inevitable.”
The New York project scored a merit in the 2022 BSA Design Awards.