Bisharat Residence | Chebeague Island, Maine

From the entry hall, Halfway Rock Light marks a due southerly course in Casco Bay with Crow Island in the foreground.

The Bisharats returned to a Maine island after years of living in Cairo and the Middle East with a new appreciation of trees, water and the natural beauty of their land. They asked for an “unassuming house that would lie close to the land, settled among its trees, seaside ledges and underground springs.” The long lean house accommodates an active life while constantly acknowledging the landscape thorough a transparent wall.

The vertical south facing glass is carefully protected in the summertime by a deep overhang yet by mid-winter, the low angle of sunlight touches the base of the north wall of the Living Room. Year round the house responds to sun and wind, the house opens and closes to the weather.