Swamp Haus: Less is Moral

A few weeks ago, I had the immense pleasure of visiting Gina & Alex at their home in the Hudson River Valley. The Swamp Haus employs an efficiency of materials, minimal (but rich) interior space, and unfolding of light infrastructures intended to get people into the soil, mud, trees and pristine water beyond.

This is a house for inward tranquility and outward contemplation. The stepped wraparound deck is more than three times the interior footprint, drawing the occupant out and creating more living space outdoors than inside.

In many ways, the house recalls Douglas Adams’ description of the inside-out house from ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’,

“It was like this: It was inside out. Actually inside out, to the extent that they had had to park on the carpet.”

The dark wood cladding and simple geometry further minimize enclosed volume of the almost tiny home within the landscape. A complementary smaller volume encloses a chicken coop, helping the owners live off the land. The pair have cultivated a vegetable garden and continue to pursue an aggressive rewilding, planting native perennials to help heal the land from its previous use as a cattle farm.

Indoors, the lush plants, high windows and warm wood almost make you question if you are even inside.

Extending the sense of whimsy, a +200ft long floating dock connects from dry land, over the swamp out to open water and a floating bedroom with glass rooftop, picture window & diving board. This delightful space sports a wood burning stove and doubles as a prep/recovery room for cold plunges durn the winter months.

The original structure was built in the 1970’s for famous New York editor James Michaels. The floating room and Chicken Coop were designed and built by carpenter Terry Nelson in 2019 and 2020. The deck and artist studio were added in 2022, designed by NYC Architect Susan Matheson. The resulting composition is cohesive, minimal, aesthetic, like a zen garden in a natural landscape.

As our conceptions of health and wellness, definitions of family, and needs for natural connections continue to evolve, so too must our methods of making home. FGM Architects has traditionally been focused on denser housing, but we are increasingly studying solutions that rethink community, nature, social cohesion and comfortable efficiency. Micro-housing, cottage communities, missing middle housing, and off-grid living all have roles to play in stemming the huge demand for housing.

The Swamp Haus calls into question what is enough and what is essential to making home.

About the Owners: Gina Ginsberg is an artist, comedian, actress and producer from Seattle. Alex Mallory is the CEO of Competitive Edge Tutoring from Manhattan. Thanks to both from FGMA for sharing their wonderful homescape!