Step inside WORKac's colorful Rhode Island home

WORKac has completed Riverhouse, a compact sustainable residence in rural Rhode Island designed by the practice’s co-founders Amale Andraos and Dan Wood for their own family. 

Located within a state-protected corridor along the Pawcatuck River, the home replaces a deteriorating summer retreat that had previously hosted informal architecture gatherings.

The design of the house emerged from changing patterns of living during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many families reconsidered the relationship between domestic space, work, and proximity to nature. For Andraos and Wood, the project also serves as a personal exploration of contemporary domestic design, combining environmental performance with flexible spatial organization.

The scheme sits lightly on its site and occupies the footprint of the former structure. The compact rectangular volume is elevated to meet floodplain regulati...