Bernheimer Architecture, Quonochontaug House, Rhode Island. Image: Jeremy Bitterman

A weekend house in Rhode Island designed by M.Arch Program Andrew Bernheimer and Bernheimer Architecture has been named Best Small Project by the American Institute of Architects. Built as a weekend retreat, Quonochontaug House is organized around an open-plan ground floor punctuated by a series of double-height skylit spaces that progress from entry to bay view. The skylight volumes, which alternate around an east-west axis defined by the pool terrace (to the east) and the ocean (to the west), taper at their apex to the dimension of standard skylights, which provide shifting and ephemeral natural light patterns throughout the day, varying across seasons and changes in the sky and weather.

Quonochontaug House was also May House of the Month in Architectural Record, and featured in Inhabit.