In September of 1938, one of the largest hurricanes to ever hit New England devastated homes all along her coastal waters. One of these homes, a mansion on 1.5 acre Sumac Island, just off Southwestern Connecticut, was sitting only 10 feet above sea level.
When the waters receded, there was nothing left of the mansion but the foundation, which sat abandoned for decades. Finally, the island was purchased in 2006 by a family wanting to build their own paradise retreat in the same spot.
The fear that another hurricane would devastate this island inspired the new owners to seek a home design virtually immune to water and wind devastation. “We knew nothing would be perfect,” mused the owner, “and that there would be more bad hurricanes in the future, but we wanted to live there and we had to try.”
They landed in the offices of Douglas Cutler Architects in Wilton CT, one of only a handful of firms specializing in high-end, modular-designed home construction.
Cutler and his team were inspired by the serenity of this small island and challenged themselves to create the perfect architectural compliment… a home that would draw the eye from the mainland, and at the same time dismiss the stigma of boring, boxy modular homes… forever.
“Our client told us they wanted to live on this island in style with their dogs and their boats,” says Cutler. “They did not want to wait three years to move in and, most importantly, they wanted their home fortified against mother nature with state of the art materials and construction.
The result was a 4,100 sf, Georgian style, custom modular home, built in a factory and delivered to the island on a barge. (see photo) “There is no doubt this home is gorgeous,” says the owner. “But what really surprised us was how quickly it was built (6 months) and how all our worries about building on an island just vanished. We were delighted with the entire process, something very few who construct a home from scratch will tell you.”
“Our commission required us to design the new building to the new FEMA regulations,” says Cutler, “with an open, reinforced, foundation raised up 16 feet above sea level in order to resist the ocean wave force of nearly 1,000 pounds per lineal foot. Furthermore, we designed the super structure to resist 120 Miles per hour winds. It was a challenge but definitely worth the effort as we all soon found out.”
Tropical Storm Irene strikes Sumac Island on August 27, 2011… at high tide.
With a new moon causing extreme tides, the sea level during Irene equaled that of the terrible 1938 hurricane. To make matters worse, wind gusts of over 85 miles per hour also made this storm devastating to the many homes on the mainland coast of Long Island Sound which received serious structural damage.
“So you can imagine our pleasure when our Sumac Island client recently contacted us with an update about how his island house performed in Tropical Storm Irene” says Cutler. “Apparently, the storm surge completely engulfed the island and the raging sea water came within 2 feet of the underside of his raised structure but our modular building performed perfectly. Even better, Irene’s strong winds were only able to whisk away some landscaping and a few pieces of architectural detail.”
“We are very pleased but not at all surprised, said Cutler. “This is what modular construction is about and, combined with FEMA regulations, we built them a tough, yet beautiful, home.”
“Our client couldn’t be happier… but not quite as happy as his insurance company” Douglas Cutler added, smiling as he pictured the relief. “This storm illustrates how modular construction, with redundancy of structure and shear walls designed to resist lateral force, has proven to be the very best, and safest, way to build a luxury home.”
We are so proud to announce that one of our homes has won the coveted HOBI Award for this year’s contest sponsored by Connecticut Builder Magazine.
Connecticut Builder had this to say about our work:
In Old Greenwich, Tim Muldoon of Twelve Development built this nostalgic shingle style home designed by Douglas Cutler Architects with Pella architectural series windows and a beautiful wrap-around mahogany porch. A covered breezeway leads to a two car garage. Tim had to appeal to the tow to have doors on the garage because of a tight FAR. The interior features honed white Carrera marble counters in the kitchen raised panel second story foyer with built-in cabinetry, living room with walk-out bay window, 10 ft. coffered ceiling family room and a two-story turret in the master bedroom that leads to the master bath, which won Best Bath Feature for the leaded glass window and moonlight cupola.
Let us know if you have a project that warrants a great time like Tim Muldoon, Douglas Cutler Architects and Pella. We would love to sit down and talk to you because, between us, we are homes.
No matter where you live, we’ve got a style for you.
When in the market for a new home, today’s buyers seem to be looking for smaller, more efficient models. Modular Architecture’s Winslow series is the perfect solution no matter what style you prefer, or what part of the country you call home.
About the Winslow Series Models
Comprised of four modular sections, the two-story, 2100 square foot Winslow models comes standard with two and a half baths, 3 bedrooms, ample living space and it’s designed to accept a one or two car attached garage . Plus, there are seven architectural designs available from which to choose, so there is an style suitable for every region and terrain.
Click on the models below to learn more about each one. You can also get an idea of what it would cost to build in your area.
Versatility in Modular Home Design
Clearly, the seven different styles under the Winslow series provide great versatility in terms of adapting to location and lifestyle needs, but they also show how the diversification of different styles than can be applied to most of our other modular home models as well. While viewing the Cutler Series, please keep in mind that any of our designs can be modified or customized for your specific needs and lifestyle.
Please call or email me personally for a free “in house” consultation. I would be very happy to speak with you and give you a personal tour of Modular Architecture, the innovative, green and affordable way to build your new home.
Be sure to take advantage of our pricing calculator for a general estimate of building modular in your area.
Curious about how much it might cost you?
No problem. Give our modular home pricing calculator a try with the Adirondack, or any of our other models for that matter.
Need help finding a modular builder?
We can help you find a modular builder in your area. Simply go to The Modular Builder Network and fill out the form with as much information as you can, and we’ll try our best to find you a builder.
“Is there a modular home design available that has everything I want in a vacation home?”
I wish I had kept track of how many of you have called our architectural offices looking for the answer to this question.
Until quite recently, the answer was no, we didn’t have a modular vacation home that would suit most people’s needs. But that has all changed with the introduction of The Adirondack.
Artist’s Rendering
The Adirondack
At just 882 square feet, the Adirondack is cozy but offers spacious living area due to its unique floor plan. A wide open first floor, with a fireplace and an ample kitchen allows for any number of furnishing options. While two full baths can accommodate for the typical necessities of just about any exotic locale. A bedroom loft overlooks the living area.
With many options for living and storage space, the Adirondack makes for a great ski, hunting, fishing, or even a golf cottage. Imagine building this vacation home in your paradise, be it overlooking the lake, on the mountainside or near the beach; the Adirondack is suited for every recreational lifestyle.
As with all of our homes, the Adirondack can be built entirely to your specifications, exactly the way you want. As all of our modular homes are built in state-of-the-art factories, they can be completed in half the time of a traditionally built home, often with significant cost savings.
Curious about how much it might cost you?
No problem. Give our modular home pricing calculator a try with the Adirondack, or any of our other models for that matter.
Need help finding a modular builder?
We can help you find a modular builder in your area. Simply go to The Modular Builder Network and fill out the form with as much information as you can, and we’ll try our best to find you a builder.
This is the best time in a generation to build a home.
Why? Because factories, general contractors and subcontractors are hungry for work and are offering great prices on construction. Property prices are also lower than they have been in decades. In some cases prices have come down by 50%. These silver lined circumstances won’t last forever. So what are you waiting for? Start enjoying that gorgeous lot by the lake left to you by Uncle Harry. Or the acreage in the mountains that you purchased 20 years ago but have never developed with a vacation home.
Can I have it my way?
Of course you can. If you want to make changes to the design, or are in need of any follow up architectural services such as site plan design, inspections, etc., we are available on an hourly OR fixed fee basis. If you are really adventuresome and desire a custom design, we would be happy to develop a unique solution, just for you, from scratch. Really!
Modular Architect Fights It Forward for Our Men and Women in the Military!
The quality of living accommodations is one of the single most important influences for an all volunteer service member. Families want to live in clean, stylish housing. Deciding whether to continue to serve is often a family decision. Often built in 5 days for less than $75 per square foot, our out of the factory homes delight the eye.
Give them what they deserve. Provide the best quality housing money can buy. If a great home is provided, military personnel are often encouraged by family to reconsider another tour of duty.
Douglas Cutler Architects designs the finest quality housing, utilizing the latest in modular building systems technologies. See our highly stylized homes and learn more about what we can do for our men and women serving America.
If the Family is Happy, Everyone is Happy!
“Military housing has come a very long way since the days of old when a soldier had to leave his wife and children in housing that often resembled the worst of an inner city slum. Even 2009, we need to take a step up. This economy is dictating a patriotic, and green, changeover in military housing construction,” says Douglas Cutler, a Wilton, CT architect who recently launched his vision of modular home building online at The Moduluar Blog.
Cutler has developed a line of over seventy-five modular plans to satisfy almost any architectural preference: Victorian, Contemporary, Colonial, Adirondack, Cape Cod and many more. Each of these homes can be viewed in detail on the Cutler website: http://www.modulararchitecture.com. Imagine allowing a military family choose the style of home they want and have that home up with keys available within weeks of signing on the dotted line.
History of Military Housing
When military-life became a choice after the Vietnam War, the cheap, unpleasant, track housing built by the military branches was still being used. Up to then, the homes on bases, or surrounding them, were put up in over long periods of time with unskilled labor and sub quality materials. There were no aesthetics and none of technology that makes housing energy efficient and appealing to live in. The military required one hundred percent of a soldier’s time, but did little to provide that man or woman’s family with a respectable lifestyle as they raise their family
Competition for better-educated personnel, engineers and computer technicians, became the increasing norm. The more sophisticated families of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel became more involved in the decision to volunteer. Families wanted to live as well just as the rest of American society was living.
Understandably, the military needed to put their resources elsewhere. Equipment, clothing, vehicles, and arms are obviously the most important expenditures and the American People will not tolerate a soldier being under-protected when going into harms way.
When Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) in 1996 it became a tool to help the military improve the quality of life for its service members by improving the condition of their housing. The MHPI was designed and developed to attract private sector financing, expertise and innovation to provide necessary housing faster and more efficiently than the traditional Military Construction processes would allow. The Office of the Secretary of Defense has delegated the MHPI to the individual military service and it is authorized to enter into agreements with private developers selected in a competitive process to own, maintain and operate family housing via a fifty-year lease.
MHPI addresses two significant problems concerning housing for military service members and their families: (1) the poor condition of DOD owned housing, and (2) a shortage of quality affordable private housing. Under the MHPI authorities, DOD works with the private sector to revitalize our military family housing through a variety of financial tools-direct loans, loan guarantees, equity investments, conveyance or leasing of land and/or housing/and other facilities. Members receive a Basic Allowance where they can choose to live in private sector housing, or privatized housing.
Now, because homes can be built in factories, our men and women in uniform do not have sacrifice a comfortable home for their families.
“Modular homes are built in factories with materials that are of finer quality” says Randy Scott of Modular Architecture. “They are built out of the weather so they are tighter and constructed with no tolerance for gaps and weather damaged materials by people who are not fighting rain, snow, sleet and gloom of night. They often come assembled with the best of electric wiring and plumbing, fitting together on the site quickly and inexpensively. They can even come painted and with architectural touches that are so appealing to occupants everywhere.”
“It does not matter if a family is renting, provided with housing or a home owner, the quality of life and experience in the home can change a family’s dynamic for the better and make families closer even when one member is far away,” says Doug Cutler.
It is well known that children of military personnel suffer from the upheaval of the many moves required during their short childhoods. Part of this problem is the friendships they have to break in order to stay with the family but more important is the stigma associated with being a military family and living in a home that is uninviting. “Inexpensive and efficient modular housing, can provide all of the features that can make a family proud of their home at far less cost and time that traditional home building.”
Douglas Cutler believes that this alone will change the poor self-perception of military families, and drastically increase in the number of potential military career volunteers. “The military offers many, many benefits and career opportunities. The only piece missing up until now is the prestige that only a green and beautiful modular house can provide. It’s time we respected our military personnel’s voluntary status. We need to attract men and women to defend our country who are better educated and better equipped than ever before.”
Douglas Cutler, one of the most celebrated modular architects in the nation, is known for his work in modular architectural design for home buyers who want it all: style, energy efficiency and the cost savings that come with a beautiful, factory-fresh home. The military branches are fast becoming very interested in this new form of competition that differentiates them from employers who offer higher salaries.
Doug Cutler’s architectural offices are located in Wilton, CT. (203) 761-9561
If you would like more information on this topic or to schedule an interview with Douglas Cutler, please contact Catherine Ann Stone at cstone@modulararchitecture.com.
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About Douglas Cutler Architects: Douglas Cutler is one of the nation’s most celebrated architects for his work in addition construction, modular design, and high end architecture. He is often recognized by the media for his outstanding work including many articles in Better Homes and Gardens, Automated Builder Magazine, and many other modular industry periodicals. He was also recently featured on the cover of Greenwich Magazine, as well as HGTV and BusinessWeek. His offices are located in Wilton, CT.
If you are a builder interested in building our modular homes, please apply to join our builder network. We will supply you with leads for our customers in you geographic area. You can find The Modular Builder Network at http://www.modularbuildernet.com
BusinessWeek looks into the benefits of building modular homes. Including reduced time to build, decreased costs, customized architectural styling and improved quality.
Douglas Cutler gives a tour of his stunning modular home in Wilton, CT. He explains how building a modular home saved him about $250,000 in building costs.
A brick is a man-made module of elegant simplicity that has been used by home builders for thousands of years, and although seemingly lifeless, assembled piles of bricks stuck together with mortar rise into a protective structures, just as cells called skin combine to cover and protect our bodies.
Douglas Cutler, renowned modular architect, speaks out against bias suffered by factory buit homes. “Why does it matter where a house is built as long as it is built right.” A good factory takes the utmost care when building a house.
In September of 1938, one of the largest hurricanes to ever hit New England devastated homes all along her coastal waters. One of these homes, a mansion on 1.5 acre Sumac Island, just off Southwestern Connecticut, was sitting only 10 feet above sea level.
They landed in the offices of Douglas Cutler Architects in Wilton CT, one of only a handful of firms specializing in high-end, modular-designed home construction.
The result was a 4,100 sf, Georgian style, custom modular home, built in a factory and delivered to the island on a barge. (see photo) “There is no doubt this home is gorgeous,” says the owner. “But what really surprised us was how quickly it was built (6 months) and how all our worries about building on an island just vanished. We were delighted with the entire process, something very few who construct a home from scratch will tell you.”
