A mid-century modern home, designed by Robert Damora and built in Mashpee, Mass.

12/21/2025 02:55:00 PM

Scale model of the house indicates its adaptability to any site, any orientation. Irregularities of terrain can be ignored because concrete piers of different heights raise house clear of ground. This technique eliminates much bulldozing, and so helps to preserve trees and other distinctive features of the site. As a result of the options offered by the system of open or closed bays, the rooms can easily be located to take advantage of the best views; terraces can be placed to enjoy the most desirable exposures, and other outdoor areas can be made an integrated part of the over-all design and landscaping of house.

ARCHITECT: Robert Damora
DEVELOPERS: Emil Hanslin Associates
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER: Suzanne Sisson
DECORATOR: Melanie Kahane
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Sepp Firnkas
LOCATION: Mashpee, Mass.
SIZE: 1,480 square feet of enclosed space 1,184 square feet of terrace

This house—known as the Robert Damora "Prototype" House (or the New Seabury Pilot House) located in Mashpee (New Seabury), Massachusetts—is likely no longer standing in its original form, or has been significantly altered.

The house was a "pilot version" built in 1961–1962 as part of a program called "Better Houses At Lower Cost". It was commissioned as a prototype for mass-producible, affordable modernist housing using prefabricated post-tensioned concrete components.

It won the Architectural Record "House of the Year" in 1962 and received an AIA Honor Award in 1965.