Gizmos Aplenty: Clever Berkshires Mansion Could Fetch $15.5M
Realtor.com
The owners of an architectural marvel in New Marlborough, MA, are hoping to reel in $15.5 million for their extraordinary 300-acre estate.
Known as Vergelegen, the 4,273-square-foot main house offers spectacular views of the Berkshire Hills and Taconic Mountains.
But the star attraction? That would be the home’s array of manual mechanisms that control some of its finest features.
The design of the 10-bedroom house is the brainchild of its art historian homeowners, along with U.S. architect Tom Kundig, British landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, and a Berkshires-based master builder.
“It’s just a completely unique take on living in this area,” says listing agent Kenzie Fields, of Elyse Harney Real Estate. “It offers the combination of privacy and a modern main home.”
KitchenRealtor.com
Dining areaRealtor.com
Custom-built in 2014, the modernist home has been on the market since last March. Fields believes that’s “not a long time for this price point.”
Mechanical marvels
Standout details of the industrial-style home include cantilevered decks and entire walls of glass that open up mechanically. While they might look difficult to operate, the hand-crank wheels are very easy to use.
Similar in design, there is a dumbwaiter from the ground floor to the upstairs spaces.
“There are walls of windows that operate on a cog-and-wheel design that allow you to easily open them up completely to the outdoors,” Fields says.
When the window walls are ajar, the house mingles indoor and outdoor spaces.
“When completely open, the sensation is akin to being in an elegant and comfortable tree fort, hovering above the landscape,” the architect’s website notes of the firm’s trademark gizmo.
Cog-and-wheel designRealtor.com
Living areaRealtor.com
The focal point of the open living space centers on a striking concrete fireplace. There is also a “dropped-ceiling music room” and a kitchen that offers a “hidden galley butler’s pantry,” the listing notes.
Other highlights include a soundproof office, entertainment room, and wine-storage cellar.
Perk-packed property
The spacious spread boasts a spring-fed swimming pond with docks, along with forests and river frontage. There’s also a newly renovated 1840s farmhouse, bank barn, two guest cabins, an art-storage building, and a heated two-car garage.
There’s even room for a horse farm. The sale includes state-of-the-art equestrian facilities with indoor and outdoor arenas, a six-stall barn, 11 paddocks, and miles of bridle paths and groomed trails.
“The home offers the magnificent opportunity to live privately in a house designed with function,” Fields said. “I think the next buyer will be someone who loves the Berkshires or just wants to be in an area that offers equal parts art and culture—along with a pretty, pristine, natural landscape.”
BedroomRealtor.com
Window with mechanical wheelRealtor.com
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