The Hatch House by he Cape Cod Modern House Trust (Cape Cod, MA)
The experimental Hatch House was designed by Jack Hall in 1960 for Robert Hatch, an editor of The Nation and his wife Ruth, a painter. The family occupied the cottage until 2008 when ownership reverted to the National Park Service. CCMHT received a lease in 2012 and finished restoration in spring 2013. Since then the house has hosted annual residencies. All the original furniture and artwork has been re-installed by the Hatch family.
It’s hard to describe the setting of the Hatch House, with it’s panoramic view of the bay, perched on the edge of a kettle hole, with a vernal pool below, and its untrammeled west-facing hillside which takes in the sunset over the water. Since it’s in the National Seashore, surrounding development has been frozen since its construction. The cottage itself is a matrix of cubes. Some are single and some combine to make bigger shared spaces. The cubes are connected by outdoor decks that seem to dematerialize due to the decking being laid on edge; making the whole seem to hover a few feet above the ground. The rooms open and close with shutters of different sizes to regulate temperature, air and sun. There are two rooms w/ queen sized beds, a bunk room, one bath, a lovely path to a generally un-occupied bay beach and access to many trails through the woods.
The house has three bedrooms, two with queen-sized beds and a small bunk room with two twin bunks. One full bathroom plus an outdoor shower. No internet or heat.
Courtesy of Antoine Lorgnier and Cape Cod Modern House Trust
Courtesy of Antoine Lorgnier and Cape Cod Modern House Trust
Courtesy of Antoine Lorgnier and Cape Cod Modern House Trust
Courtesy of Antoine Lorgnier and Cape Cod Modern House Trust
