Located in Dutchess County, New York in the southern region of the Taconic Mountains, this hilltop residence is designed for long views of the valley below and surrounding horse pastures, meadows, mountain vistas and nearby forest preserve.
RESOLUTION: 4 ARCHITECTURE designed Millbrook Residence as a summer estate for an avid polo player and his family to enjoy the 165-acre property upon which he built his own private polo field and horse stables. The project consists of a 7,500 square foot main residence, pool house, and infinity pool. The architecture is anchored to the site with extensive landscaping, including a rectilinear, curated garden approach and restored natural meadows surrounding the house.
In response to the owner’s directive to maximize glazing areas, the architects collaborated with a specialized European minimal-frame window manufacturer based in Switzerland to fabricate oversized, precision-engineered custom windows with maximum sightlines. Individual glass panels measure as large as 9 feet high by 16 feet wide, comprising continuous units as long as 70 feet with mere 1-1/2" wide mullions between individual panels.
Programmatically, the main level is divided into two wings, bisected by a dominant landscaping axis leading to the main entry deck and foyer through a glass pivot door. The larger wing centers around a great room while the smaller wing is dedicated to service functions, including separate guest & staff powder rooms, mudroom, service entrance, and secondary stair.
The professional chef’s kitchen, designed for use by the owner’s private chef, boasts a large butler’s pantry, providing plenty of space to prepare and serve when the owners host dinner parties or catered events. Both spaces maintain floor-to-ceiling windows opening to the south meadow for extensive views of the property.
Moving from the kitchen, through the foyer, a thickened wall separates a gallery hall and the glass-wrapped main stair from the great room. Hot-rolled black steel panels clad the entire length of the gallery wall, providing a backdrop for artwork with views to & from the entry arcade of trees.
Opposite the gallery is a long library wall—complete with rolling ladder and hidden dry bar—anchoring the living and dining spaces, which are focused to the rolling meadow and mountain views beyond through the expansive full-height glazing.
A black steel volume housing a wood-burning fireplace separates the great room from a smaller media room, complete with its own wood-burning fireplace too. Here, a hideaway office nook is concealed behind a sliding barn door clad with hundreds of oval-shaped brass sequins. Other main level spaces include a playroom, exercise room, and yoga deck tucked off the media room. A wraparound stone terrace and large wood deck on the south side of the house allow for entertaining and dining outside in warmer months while enjoying the panoramic views of the property.
The main stairs turn at a cantilevered landing prominently projecting from the front facade, wrapped in double-height glass. The stairs are a dramatic connection between the main level entertaining spaces and the second-floor breezeway which spills onto the covered roof deck, further expanding the capacity to host large social gatherings with a variety of interior and exterior spaces.
The roof deck—shaded beneath wood trellises and capturing distant views of the valley beyond—features a full wet bar, dining space and lounge area huddled around an outdoor wood-burning fireplace.
The breezeway and roof deck separate three guest suites from the primary suite on opposite ends of the house.
The primary suite is a luxurious haven, featuring a large bedroom with yet another wood-burning fireplace and expansive corner windows, as well as separate his and her bathrooms. His bathroom features a freestanding bathtub set against a full expanse of glass with nothing but the landscape visible beyond. A secluded outdoor shower is accessed from the tub zone through a pocketing sliding glass door. Her bathroom features a stone-clad, spa-inspired shower with double wall-mounted showerheads and a deluge-producing ceiling-mounted rain shower.
The pool house has its own full kitchen, lounge space and pool bath. Jutting into the landscape is an outdoor dining terrace, shaded beneath a wood trellis. A wood deck runs the length of the pool for sunbathing. An outdoor shower and spa sit at opposite ends of this pool deck. The infinity pool has vanishing edges on its two open sides to further reinforce connection to the valley views.
Connected to the pool house is a three-car garage and auto court. A continuous canopy punctured by open trellises encircles the building.
The landscaping design takes a minimal approach. Terraces and plantings are designed as a visual extension of the architectural features, with walls of stone and weathered steel referencing the broader agrarian landscape. Orthogonal geometry near the house transitions to natural meadows restored with native species to integrate the residence into the surrounding pasture. On cool evenings, the family and their guests can get cozy around a fire pit carved from a large boulder. Firewood is conveniently stored in a weathered steel storage bin recessed into an adjacent bluestone wall. Farther from the house, a croquet lawn and vegetable garden utilize the gently sloping hillside. Occupying other portions of the estate are the regulation-size polo field, horse stables, paddocks & exercise track.
