Property of Dr. Alice McNifl, Stockbridge, Mass. | Architect: John Johansen

11/21/2025 06:43:00 PM

When people say they like a "functional" house, they most often mean a house engineered simply to give them a complex of labor-saving devices and special conveniences. This, of course, is just one concept of the functional house. Another architectural definition of function is expressed in the small house. that appears here and on the cover of this issue. Its "functional" virtue, to both the archi- tect and owner, is its complete simplicity. Yet with its repeated pattern of circular stonework, it is in addition aesthetically satisfying. It is essentially one big living space, 45' by 20', broken only by a free-standing circular fireplace and a larger circular stone wall, half of which encloses the kitchen and bath. The other half, outside the house, forms an outdoor shower and sun-bathing area. Built on a 24-acre site in Massachusetts' Berkshires, the house overlooks a lake and, in the dis- tance, the grounds of the famous Tanglewood Music Festival. A low stone wall encompassing the house carries out the circular theme and defines front and rear terraces. The long side walls, broken by seven doors, are entirely of glass. The walls at either end, each providing 20' of storage space, are solid. Though the in- terior, except for kitchen and bath, is a single area without partitions, it divides naturally for three uses. There is the living area at one end, centering on the fireplace; the dining area in the middle of the house, opposite the kitchen; and finally, in the remaining third, the sleeping area. The last may be separated from the rest of the house and transformed into two bedrooms by folding partitions. Under the sleeping area are a garage and utility room, accessible from the kitchen by a circular stairway. Devoid of dirt-catching cubbyholes and niches, this year-round house is a model of functionalism in one basic sense; upkeep is largely a matter of dusting the floors once a week.