Nesting Place

Hutker Architects creates the perfect summer getaway on Martha's Vineyard.

- Nancy A. Ruhling

Set sedately on a hillside on Martha’s Vineyard, the waterfront retreat is a generational summer spot for family and friends to gather.

The three structures on the one-and-ahalf-acre property descend to the water’s edge like matryoshka dolls: the large main residence, followed by the cottage and, at the dock, the boathouse.

The compound, designed by Hutker Architects, pairs “regional vernacular familiar forms with a modern sensibility,” says project architect and partner, Jim Cappuccino, AIA, whose team included firm founder Mark A. Hutker, FAIA, and associate Mackenzie Pratt, AIA. “The assemblage of structures shares the same spirit, and they are well integrated into the property.”

The owners, a couple with three teenage children who have had a vacation home on the island for many years, envisioned the compound as a place for entertaining large groups as well as an intimate space for family time.

“The cottage provides everything the homeowners might need when they are visiting alone or retreating from the day’s activities,” Cappuccino says, “while the main house provides all the amenities of a boutique inn, with large spaces for cooking, gathering, working or celebrating—all with the privacy and convenience of their adjacent locations.”

He adds that creating three separate spaces made the retreat site-appropriate, and “with the main house’s four separate bedroom wings, one in each corner, sections can be closed off for privacy or opened up for more people.”

The Hutker team designed the main house, renovated the cottage, and refurbished the boathouse, which is sometimes used for sleepovers.