Chamberlain Cottage

Breuer and Gropius – Chamberlain Cottage, Wayland, Massachusetts, 1940

Architect: Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius
The proposal was to design a cabin on nine acres of land for the Chamberlain family, just outside Wayland, Massachusetts. In the letter received by Marcel Breuer to issue the order, Harvard Professor Chamberlain and his wife asked him to insert a porch like Breuer’s house in Lincoln. The Chamberlain affectionately called his cabin, “shoe house” because of the small size of his floor plan, which consisted of a living room where you could host a guest and a library to store 500 to 1000 books, a room and a small space to keep a canoe. Breuer takes advantage of the uneven ground and the possible river crossings near the ground by placing a stone container anchored to the ground and positioned above a wooden container with strong overhangs.
The cottage has two separate entrances. The lower door is defined by two low stone walls. The ground floor has space to accommodate the canoe and a fireplace in continuity with the upper floor.

On the stone masonry the cantilevered volume is exposed to the north and west. Towards the west, the wooden volume is suspended in the air towards the beautiful views, as noted by Breuer in his sketch. To the north, a conservatory is built articulated on both sides by double columns quite similar to those previously used by Breuer in his Lincoln home. This portico is closed with a large window that overlooks the landscape and projects the horizon by positioning the inhabitant between architecture and landscape.
The main floor is arranged around the stone fireplace. This is the first time that it appears in Breuer’s designs as a free element within the salon. Wood and stone floors are placed side by side near the fireplace.