Pierce Lighting Studio

We are thrilled to have this project featured by Forbes! Inspired by the vertical slats of “bird blind” structures that populate the nature preserve, vertical, gray, siding allows the home to blend into the trees. The camouflaging effect minimizes visual disruptions for neighbors on the coast, encourages wildlife to occupy the lot, and allows occupants to inconspicuously observe nature from their perch. The siding has also been lightly charred in a technique known as ‘shou sugi ban.’ This traditional Japanese method of charring wood makes the façade resistant to fire, rot, and bugs, requires no maintenance, and increases the wood’s longevity and durability. The shou sugi ban siding offers a soft texture and color similar to that of driftwood found on the beach, bringing warmth and texture to the interior as it wraps along interior walls. Expansive glazing along the north façade brings in gentle light throughout the day, while a clerestory along the roof ridge allows the exposed beams to be washed with dramatic southern light. A tall “reverse dormer” brings gentle light in from the north. On the inside, the vertical drama of the view through the trees is a surprise moment, captured like a traditional Chinese landscape scroll painting, but through a modern architectural lens. Thank you to @Forbes for recognizing our firm with a wonderful feature article this week (see our bio for the link), and the following accolades: Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Top 200 Residential Architects,” 2025; Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects,” 2025 Thank you to our collaborators: Contractor – Aran Inc. @araninc Structural – Condon Engineering @condonengineering Lighting – Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio Windows – Cortizio Windows @cortizoaluminium Siding- Resawn Timber Co @resawntimberco Photography – Jake Balston @jakebalston #desaichia #modernarchitecture #modernhome #residentialarchitecture #Forbes

Thank you to Forbes Senior Editor Richard Olsen and Forbes Deputy Editor Fred Albert for celebrating our work with the Forbes community! The link to Fred Albert’s terrific article– “America’s Top Architects: An Island Home by New York’s Desai Chia Architecture”-- can be found in our bio and on the Forbes.com website. Along the coast, this home's nautical forms project toward the water like a ship’s bow, providing covered, outdoor gathering spaces on both the first and second floors. The east terrace is a visual and programmatic anchor to the site, with a stair dropping down from the second level to gracefully rest on the ground, connecting the social and private programs with each other, and the site. Thank you to Forbes for recognizing our firm with the following accolades: Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Top 200 Residential Architects,” 2025; Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects,” 2025 Additional recognition: American Architecture Award, 2025 SARA NY 2025 Design Award of Excellence Interior Design 2024 Best of Year Honoree AIA Long Island 2024 Design Award of Merit Architecture Masterprize Award 2024 SARA National 2024 Design Award Featured in Forbes @Forbes Contractor – Aran Inc. @araninc Structural – Condon Engineering @condonengineering Lighting – Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio Windows – Cortizio Windows @cortizoaluminium Siding- Resawn Timber Co @resawntimberco Photography – Paul Warchol @paul_warchol #desaichia #modernarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #Forbes #architecturephotography

Forbes magazine has featured the Osprey House this week! A link to the article can be found in our bio! Wildlife thrives along the marshy shores of Shelter Island, and tucked into its tree line is the Osprey House- an architectural threshold at the edge of the 2,000-acre Mashomack Preserve. Our client wanted to build a home for his family here that would foster their love for beach walks, kayaking, and living within nature. The home was inspired by its neighbors- native osprey. Osprey thrive throughout the nature preserve and their nests are ubiquitous, appearing in treetops, telephone poles, and nautical piers. Their marine nature, adaptability, and high nesting places inspired the home’s materiality, organization, and relationship with the coast. The home has large communal living spaces and an outdoor terrace perched on the second floor in the spirit of an osprey nest, and similar to the local tradition of “upside-down” houses. This offers the raised gathering spaces expansive open views of the marshland ecosystem. Featured in the Forbes Instagram feed @Forbes Contractor – Aran Inc. @araninc Structural – Condon Engineering @condonengineering Lighting – Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio Windows – Cortizio Windows@cortizoaluminium Siding- Resawn Timber Co @resawntimberco Photography – Jake Balston @jakebalston Thank you to Forbes for recognizing our firm with the following accolades: Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Top 200 Residential Architects,” 2025; Forbes Architecture’s “America’s Best-in-State Residential Architects,” 2025 #desaichia #architecture #modernarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #Forbes #Forbestoparchitects

The Bethesda Residence offered a chance to reimagine urban living through a contemporary lens, balancing proximity, privacy, and light. Indoor-outdoor connections were carefully orchestrated to maximize the potential of the compact site. Terraces and precisely placed windows extend living spaces outward, creating moments of openness without sacrificing intimacy. A lap pool and spa were seamlessly integrated into the backyard, transforming the limited outdoor area into a gracious setting for daily use, relaxation, and entertaining. The landscape design by Campion Hruby Landscape Architects @campionhrubyla is both lush and modern, riffing off the architectural aesthetics with a palette of plants and hardscaping that create a calm oasis around the home. Together, these strategies produce a home that feels luminous, composed, and quietly dynamic - rooted in its neighborhood while offering a renewed way of living within it. Design Architect– Desai Chia Architecture @desaichiaarchitecture Architect of Record– Thomson & Cooke Architects @thomsoncooke Landscape Architect – Campion Hruby Landscape Architects @campionhrubyla Lighting – Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio Contractor – Alliance Builders, Annapolis, MD Structural – Ehlert Bryan Consulting Structural Engineers MEP – Owens Comfort Systems Civil – CAS Engineering Photographer – Jake Balston @jakebalston #desaichia #desaichiaarchitecture #architecture #modernarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #minimalarchitecture #dreamhome #modernhome #modernurbanhouse #Bethesda #indooroutdoor #openplanliving #modernliving #designingwithlight #architecturelovers #archilovers #homeinspo #architecturephotography

At the center of this urban residence, a faceted, three-story light well gives form to the light, creating a dynamic atmosphere that shifts with the day and the seasons. Positioned along and above the stairwell, this vertical volume of space allows sunlight to cascade downward, bouncing diffuse light across circulation spaces on the first and second floors. At night, architectural lighting by Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio turns the lightwell into an inverted light sculpture that one inhabits as you move up through the stairwell. In an urban context, the light well becomes both a functional and experiential element- maintaining visual privacy while animating the home with the subtle movement of light over time. Design Architect– Desai Chia Architecture @desaichiaarchitecture Architect of Record– Thomson & Cooke Architects @thomsoncooke Landscape Architect – Campion Hruby Landscape Architects @campionhrubyla Lighting – Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio Contractor – Alliance Builders, Annapolis, MD Structural – Ehlert Bryan Consulting Structural Engineers MEP – Owens Comfort Systems Civil – CAS Engineering Photographer – Jake Balston @jakebalston #desaichia #desaichiaarchitecture #architecture #modernarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #minimalarchitecture #dreamhome #modernhome #modernurbanhouse #Bethesda #indooroutdoor #openplanliving #modernliving #designingwithlight #architecturelovers #archilovers #homeinspo #architecturephotography

This minimalist home for a family of 4 carefully balances proportion, scale and material expression in a compact lot with closely spaced neighboring houses. From the outset, the clients sought a durable, low-maintenance exterior with a strong architectural presence. Fiber cement panels were selected to create a crisp, sculptural facade that captures texture and shifting light throughout the day. While we and the clients initially considered cast-in-place concrete, the fiber cement system provided greater versatility and precision while maintaining the desired sense of solidity and refinement of details. Designed in collaboration with AOR @thomsoncooke with beautiful lighting details by @piercelightingstudio Design Architect– Desai Chia Architecture @desaichiaarchitecture Architect of Record– Thomson & Cooke Architects @thomsoncooke Landscape Architect – Campion Hruby Landscape Architects @campionhrubyla Lighting – Pierce Lighting Studio @piercelightingstudio Contractor – Alliance Builders, Annapolis, MD Structural – Ehlert Bryan Consulting Structural Engineers MEP – Owens Comfort Systems Civil – CAS Engineering Photographer – Jake Balston @jakebalston #desaichia #desaichiaarchitecture #architecture #modernarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #minimalarchitecture #dreamhome #modernhome #modernurbanhouse #Bethesda #indooroutdoor #openplanliving #modernliving #designingwithlight #architecturelovers #archilovers #homeinspo #architecturephotography

Sharing some views framed by nature, to the Chatham Residence. We love working with the existing topography and natural ecosystems inherent in a site. In this case, the existing forest merges with the home-- the leaf canopy creates arcs of shadow and light that inspired the roof forms; native birch trees and woodland ferns give the entry sequence a lush texture. Scuppers drain rainwater off the roof, expressing season rites of passage as a design moment to celebrate. Landscape and architecture riff off each other in playful ways. Structural @gmsllp MEP @ces_engineering Landscape Architect @wagnerhodgson Lighting Consultant @piercelightingstudio Millwork @elephants_custom_nyc Contractor @structureworksconstruction Photography @jakebalston #desaichiaarchitecture #architecture #modernarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #modernhome #moderncountryhouse #minimalarchitecture #dreamhome #indooroutdoor #openplanliving #modernliving #designinspiration

We find delight in the glimpses and moments that shape broader design concepts. Here, the curved forms of the Chatham Residence define covered seating areas and embrace the natural landscape. Notice the scupper detail- stormwater from the roof is directed to a drywell below. @jakebalston @gmsllp @wagnerhodgson @piercelightingstudio @procario_designs @structureworksconstruction #desaichia #desaichiaarchitecture #modernarchitecture #architecture #residentialarchitecture #organicarchitecture

Chatham Residence, NY. Architecture: @desaichiaarchitecture Photography: @paul_warchol

Chatham Residence, NY. Architecture: @desaichiaarchitecture Photography: @paul_warchol

Chatham Residence, NY. Architecture: @desaichiaarchitecture Photography: @paul_warchol

Chatham Residence, NY. Architecture: @desaichiaarchitecture Photography: @paul_warchol