It might be hidden deep in the forest of New York’s Columbia County, but this rural home by New York practice Dean/Wolf Architects is far from rustic.

Dubbed Ephemeral Edge, the 3,000-sq-ft weekend retreat is sleek but discreet building designed for a family of five in 2016 outside of Austerlitz, on the eastern edge of the Catskills. The US property was named among the winners at the 59th annual Progressive Architecture Awards for its innovative, site-specific design, which embraces its waterside setting.

The modernist-style building curves along the edge of a man-made pond on the clearing in the woods, seemingly hugging the shore. Consequently, its living spaces appear to float above the water with the forest peering out beyond.

Rooms open onto an outdoor deck that runs along the water edge, and floor-to-ceiling glass partitions dissolve the threshold of indoor and outdoor while creating sight-lines to the pond and forest.

Interiors are also designed to keep the focus on the views, with soft, white-washed rooms providing a clean contrast to the colourful changing seasons beyond the glass.

In the living room, exposed rebar evokes the spindly form of the trees, and skylights overhead illuminate the interiors and turn the house’s radial design into a ‘sun dial’, with rooms brightening across the course of the day.

‘There aren’t any doors, but there is privacy between four different areas,’ principal Kathryn Dean, AIA told Architect Magazine. ‘You basically weave around planes in space.’

The two-bedroom New York property is for sale via Four Seasons Sotheby’s International – Hudson for $3.4m.

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