Design Diary: Wedlick And Devito Build a Better Barn in Dutchess County
Thankfully the calendar and Mother Nature have settled their recent disputes and joined hands to welcome us into the glorious month of May. It’s the edge of summer in the Hudson Valley, and officially warm enough to sport those new shorts and limited-edition sneaks; a time to hike, bike, bird and garden. The weather is ideal, the landscape phenomenal, and June beckons.
Design Diary was thrilled at the prospect of a trip at this time of year to northeast Dutchess County, not far from the hamlet of Stanfordville, New York. We had obviously reached our destination when we turned off a single-lane country road onto a lengthy driveway at the base of a grassy slope, and then saw an imposing private residence with a powerful silhouette sited at the top of the hill.
The 3,500-square-foot architectural wonder is the home of Dennis Wedlick, renowned architect and founder and principal emeritus at BarlisWedlick — an award-winning architectural firm with offices in NYC and Hudson — and his spouse, Curt DeVito, a gracious former tax attorney for American Express. Approximately four years ago, they purchased this magnificent residence when the BarlisWedlick-designed home came on the market, giving them the rare opportunity to live in such a remarkable home, which Wedlick had meticulously designed originally for a client 12 years prior.
The dramatic architecture, with a 21st century nod to the vernacular of the grange, incorporates uber energy-efficient construction techniques and building details. These features include 14 foot x 8 foot locally made custom steel windows by Optimum Window located in Ellenville, NY, and custom barn-door-style window screens fabricated by James Romanchuk & Sons. The massive windows allow stunning panoramic views, and the screens keep bugs and bats at bay. The soaring pre-fabricated glue-timber frame beams are also manufactured locally by Unadilla Silo and Barn — the same company that assembled huge laminated timbers for hundred-year-old barns in the neighborhood.
To truly appreciate the grandeur of this imposing Dutchess County home, it seems pertinent to share something of the humble path this couple took to get to this time and place. For decades they both worked in NYC and lived in a typical city apartment in Hoboken. That apartment, and others like it, served as their unassuming urban accommodations over the years, as each continued his education and they built their respective careers. But these hardworking city guys loved escaping on weekends and holidays to Upstate New York and needed a non-urban home to call their own.
In 1987, Wedlick designed a prescient 800-square-foot passive-solar cottage for them in Kinderhook. This compact, but architecturally significant house was the cornerstone for BarlisWedlick’s, and Wedlick's, growing sustainable architecture practice, incorporating progressive energy-saving techniques and materials. For almost 30 years the couple lived in the cottage, but now enjoy a glass barn/house on a hill, with nonstop views and space.
In 2011, The Hudson Passive Project, BarlisWedlick’s case study for “the most advanced method for reducing building energy use,” caught the attention of Brenda Adams, executive director of Columbia County Habitat for Humanity. She requested a meeting with the firm to learn how these innovative building techniques might benefit Habitat for Humanity. She was stunned to learn that this type of energy-efficient construction could assist their residents with up to 99% savings on heating bills. Thus began the close relationship with Dennis and CCH4H.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Wedlick is currently launching the first iteration of Rural Build, a new program to develop affordable housing for the rural and farming workforce, based on his successful work with CCH4H. This special couple have just celebrated 40 years together, and are looking forward to hosting concerts in their living room by The Four Nations Ensemble later this summer. The quartet claims the acoustics in this contemporary “barn” are better than most concert halls they’ve performed in.
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