Dogtrot House, Poplarville, MS

The right house was born while they were busy making other plans, by Allan and Nancy Bissinger. The couple, who have three adult children and live most of the year in New Orleans, has hired New Orleans-company Waggonner & Ball Mac architects to design a small cottage on their 40 acres of property in rural areas of southern Mississippi hills overlooking a small pond. "Our plan was to have Mac Ball design person / party and eventually build a house much higher in the pond, but because the small house is functional, we decided to postpone the construction of something else." Explains Nancy.

Ball designed the 850-square-foot home (which also has 395-square feet of storage space, a 316-square-foot dining porch and a 200-square-foot screened porch) as a modern "dogtrot "Prototype, to guide the vernacular surrounding landscape and architecture. Small farms, with interruptions, pine and scrub land, barns, tin sheds, mobile homes, and chicken cooperatives. Typical in the rural South, dogtrot buildings covered an open space between two spaces, providing shelter, wind zone during collect the hot summers. In Bissinger home, this area serves a meal informal porch towards the pond. It quickly became the favorite of the couple's home.

Waggonner & Ball project designer Catherine Smith said: "The materials and design are all very simple." Wood-frame house is located on a concrete block untreated base. Stained-board and batten means of "Avoidance is interlaced with horizontal weatherboard siding. A diagonal slope single joint standing metal roof juxtaposed with a vertical form of free masonry fireplace in the dogtrot space, while large steps and raised in a smock Concrete extend this area still in the landscape.

The open porch divides the living space and screening porch storage / work room. Smith says efficient use of space is the key inside. The show is a double-height space volume with a loft above sleeping closets and a bathroom. According to Nancy, the little house turned out to be the perfect respite to the busy couple of urban life. "Allan likes to say that we have a mini-vacation every weekend," she said. "We fly fish in our pond, watching the birds of many species nest in the yard and we enjoy their families, Allan rides his tractor to clear brush, grass and plants on the property, I remove the weeds and maintain our (mostly) landscapes, our friends and family visit and we enjoy peace and tranquillity with them. Our three grown children also enjoy peace and tranquillity. We hope one day to teach grandchildren about the joys of life. "

Dogtrot House
Poplarville, MS
Waggonner & Ball Architects
via archrecord.construction.