companypresidentVinceTyer.Thesebuild-
ersgofarbeyondtheconstraintsoftypical
contractors,employingtheirownteamsof
highlyskilledcraftsmen—fromframers,
stonemasons,plasterers,millworkersand
painterstoelectriciansandplumbers—to
gettheworkcompletedproperly,ontime
and,most importantly,onbudget.Despite
themultimillion-dollarprice
tagsforallofthesehomes,
evenwealthyhomeowners
haveabudget,Tyersays.
What’smore, thecompanies
thatbuildthesehomesdon’t
restwhenthe job iscompleted.“Wehavea
wholedepartmentthatmaintainstheproj-
ect,rightdowntohanginguptheChristmas
decorationsafterwe leave,”heexplains.
Amongthemoreextravagantrequests,
builderssay,aremoatsaroundoceanfront
estates,gravity-defyingsunroomsoof
Manhattanskyscrapers,underground
norm in luxury-homebuilding.
Thesedays,auenthomebuildersare
lookingwellbeyondensuitebathrooms,
theubiquitouskitchenbuilt forachef,a
wood-paneled librarywithasaferoomand
aclimate-controlledwinecellar.Many
aregoingtoarchitecturalextremesto
createthehouseof theirdreams.More-
over, somearebypassingtheconventional
architector interiordesignerandtaking
theirdemandsdirectlytothesource—
high-endresidentialcontractorssuchas
TaconicBuilders,AnglesConstructionand
GrunowConstruction,whocontroland
managethework fromblueprintstofinal
walk-throughs.
“Whenhomeownersstartresearching
architects likeRobertA.M.Stern,Boris
BaranovichorPeterMarino, theyseethat
Taconicwasusedasthecontractorand
sometimestheycallusdirectly,”oers
FROMTOP:
Inorder tobuild this
10,000-square-foot estatealong
theoceanfront inCapeCod,Mas-
sachusetts, thehomeownershad
togiveeight of their original 12
acresof property to thenational
preservation trust.
THECHALLENGE
OFLUXURY HOME
BUILDING ISOFTEN,
QUITELITERALLY,
ANUPHILLBATTLE.
WINTER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
96
