This Thoughtfully Designed New Marlborough Estate Is a World of Its Own [SPONSORED]

Tucked deep in the rolling hills of the Berkshires in New Marlborough, Massachusetts is the otherworldly estate known as Vergelegen. The word comes from the Afrikaans for “situated far away,” and it’s the exact feeling that defines the sprawling property of nearly 300 acres of rolling meadows, ponds, forests, and river frontage that ensconses the Tom Kundig-designed home at its center.

Kundig, of the award-winning Seattle firm Olson Kundig Architects, is known for his deep consideration of the interaction between the built environment and the natural world that surrounds it. It makes sense, then, that the impact of the modern home, which was designed for two art historians, reaches its full potential when experienced from the awe-inspiring approach that precedes it.

The entrance to the property is understated, a classic vision of the New England countryside. One of the first things to catch your eye is a newly renovated 1840s farmhouse—complete with white clapboard siding and wraparound columned porch—and a bank barn surrounded by well-manicured paddocks.

An elegant covered bridge gracefully welcomes your arrival, spiriting you over the burbling Konkapot River, which accompanies the road as you begin the meandering ascent among undulating hills and woodlands to the main house.

Just before the stately forest green equestrian facility comes into view, a switchback in the road affords a cozy view of the pastoral acreage below. Also running throughout the property are five miles of estate roads, bridle paths, and marked and groomed footpaths for the equestrian enthusiasts to enjoy and all manner of destination sites that provide the perfect backdrop for al fresco picnicking and cookouts.

Just after, the sleek roofline of the main house finally appears over a distant hilltop, providing the eye with a gradual introduction to the experience of the 4,273-square-foot home—a stunning modern design that features a cantilevered upper floor, with a façade of steel and entire walls of glass that open mechanically to access the decks and provide a matchless indoor/outdoor living experience.

Kundig intentionally situated the house in an ecotone—the border between two adjacent ecological systems—stretching its design along the line where the forest meets the meadow. The building is thin enough that each room, as you move through the house, balances a feeling of interior refuge against the grand contrast of its surrounding vistas of the Berkshire Hills and Taconic Mountains.

The grand, thoughtfully designed estate would easily be at home in the modern English countryside, and one could easily imagine all the possibilities for enjoying it.

The landscape design by the acclaimed London-based landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith enhances the site’s natural and created environments, including a “Paradise Garden” for vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers and wooden palisade fencing that encloses a circular area with plantings, gravel paths, and benches, centered by an apple tree. With two additional renovated full-season guest cabins, there’s room for plenty of family and friends yet still enough space for the contemplative and creative quietude that the Berkshires inspires.

Learn more about this listing here.