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Creating a home is a process of making a place that feels both new and old: new, in so far as it is a fresh response to the existing conditions of neighborhood, site, climate, program, and budget; and old, in that it contains the deep and familiar qualities that, regardless of location, budget, and size, make a place a home.
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Patterns of HomeHISTORY
In 1986, I was teaching an Architecture course at a day school in Westport when a decorator friend asked me to design a series of children’s bedroom built-ins for a house on Sasco Hill Road. This initial project was followed shortly thereafter by one for another local interior design firm, and still another for a real estate broker/developer. It soon became obvious that the design field held more potential than my teaching position, so in October, 1986, I decided to strike out on my own. At first the office was on the porch at my home but shortly moved to a 1926 Pennsylvania Rail Road car I owned, which sat on a siding (a track parallel to the main line) in Saugatuck. The car, itself, had been re-named Sasqua after the old Indian name for Southport—the town originally intended to be the car’s home base. I transferred the car’s name to the company: Sasqua Associates, LLC. Both the name and the railroad-car symbol have been with us ever since. That first month I earned all of $500 dollars, which immediately caused me to question the wisdom of my career move. I remember spending a good deal odf time walking around Westport and Southport with my camera photographing architectural details on the houses. Oh to have that time today! Once those first few somewhat anxious months were behind me, I was able to look back fondly on my time as a teacher, but certainly with no sense of longing for the “good old days” Today, twenty-odd years and many clients later, Sasqua Associates, LLC is still working with two of these three original clients. Thanks for the confidence everyone. |
