Cape Cod Home, Annual 2017 | capecodlife.com

Building Business: Hutker Architects’ new Falmouth office

Cape Cod Home  /  Annual Home 2017 / ,

Writer: Julie Craven Wagner / Photographer: Eric Roth 

Building Business: Hutker Architects’ new Falmouth office

Cape Cod Home, Annual 2017 | capecodlife.com

Cape Cod Home  /  Annual Home 2017 / ,

Writer: Julie Craven Wagner / Photographer: Eric Roth 

Fibonacci in Falmouth, Annual 2017 Cape Cod Home | capecodlife.com

The new stone monument sign along Palmer Avenue anchors the newly transformed site. Photo by Eric Roth

Growing up in the Midwest, Mark Hutker learned something from a friend who was a crop duster that would stay with him for years to come. “I asked him how he knew which farms were which from an aerial perspective,” Hutker recalls, “and he related how the roof patterns are all different due to a long history of roof repairs.” The design team decided to deliberately vary shingle colors and stripe widths to create a distinctive pattern for the new building’s roof. Hutker explained that the classic mathematical principal of Fibonacci sequence is reflected in the optical illusion this design generates, as the thinner stripes on the top seem to be farther away.

Other happy surprises emerged as the project progressed. McNeill marvels at how the bark of the birch trees chosen to soften the building’s front facade mimics the pale gray shingles and the bronze metal frame color of the Marvin windows. The new Hutker logo on the monument stone at the entrance, another BRICC award winner for Best Logo, underwent a bit of a facelift. What used to be lowercase letters are now all capitals in a typeface that creates a sense of forward movement, exemplifying one of the firm’s design tenets: acknowledging history and heritage as it evolves. “Even the soft graphite gray color acknowledges the pencil sketches that begin our process with our clients,” says Bangert. “The form of the letters, and the way they branch to fill the gap between history and the design we create today, for tomorrow, is represented in our ‘H’ brandmark,” the backlit, orange art piece displayed on the front of the building.

As Mark Hutker sat in his new office reflecting on the success of the design, the history of the firm, and the close relationships found amongst his employees and clients, he spoke again about the sequencing and frequency found in Fibonacci numbers. The same math formula that rendered the captivating shingle pattern on the roof is also abundantly found in nature, he explains. “It is evident in the petals of flowers, and in the leaves and branches of a tree. It explains the spirals found in shells, pinecones and pineapples. We subliminally take these cues and file them away. The influence of our environment, and how we interpret it, and then incorporate it into the things we create, subtly speaks a language familiar to our souls, the part of us that has been passed down from generation to generation.”

Hutker Architects creates heirlooms; the firm’s new home, handed down from the past, and thoughtfully transformed, is ready for its future.

Check out Hutker Architects’ website that also won gold in the 2016 BRICC Awards.

Julie Craven Wagner

Julie Craven Wagner began her experience with Cape Cod Life in 2010 when she joined the sales team after 10 years of working with local businesses on the Cape and Islands with WMVY. In addition to sales, she is the Associate Publisher/Editor of Cape Cod LIFE, Cape Cod HOME, and Cape Cod ART. Growing up on the Outer Cape has given her a unique perspective of life on Cape Cod, from tip to bridge, and that is reflected in her appreciation and presentation of stories found within the pages of our publications. Julie lives in North Falmouth with her husband, Eric, and their yellow lab, Enzo. When she finds free time, she enjoys her Cape Cod life sailing on Buzzards Bay, spending time on the beach in Wellfleet, or exploring Martha’s Vineyard.