Suburban Contrast: Modern Studio Squeezed Between Houses
The suburbs, with their narrow definition of what constitutes a 'house,' can be an uninspiring place for poets to live. New York-based firm Para-Project decided to flout arbitrary conventions of suburban architecture with a rectilinear white writing studio squeezed between two typical homes, an unexpected visual for the Syracuse neighborhood.
![Haffenden House Modern Suburbia 2](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/fBdMum3jrIZH9lOGbFJP7Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTQ3MA--/https://s.yimg.com/os/en-US/cms/homes/Dornob/Haffenden-House-Modern-Suburbia-2.jpg)
Designed for two poets who own one of those homes, Haffenden House takes its visual inspiration from Ice House II, a 1972 installation by artist Gianni Pettena that achieved a similar effect by coating an abandoned home in water in the middle of the freezing Minnesota winter.
![Haffenden House Modern Suburbia 3](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2uhuktZuG9g9WQQPgwq.5A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTYzMA--/https://s.yimg.com/os/en-US/cms/homes/Dornob/Haffenden-House-Modern-Suburbia-3-468x418.jpg)
The clients wanted an airy, light-filled space with minimal distractions that could function as an escape from the bland surroundings of their residence. Para-Project covered the structure in a translucent silicon-impregnated fabric skin and created a bowl-shaped division between the second and third levels to let in natural light and provide a curved reading room.
![Haffenden House Modern Suburbia 5](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Rf03QCnnt1QIQSuwbuJQbA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTQ3Mg--/https://s.yimg.com/os/en-US/cms/homes/Dornob/Haffenden-House-Modern-Suburbia-5.jpg)
The studio includes a garage and breezeway on the ground level and a library and writing space on the second level. An in-ground tub looks out onto the backyard through a large glazed wall for the ultimate relaxing reading experience.