The Clients:

A couple in their first home, sensitive to materials, form and details who wanted a clean, modern renovation of their home. While they hoped to add additional space and enlarge existing small bedrooms, they opted to give up larger rooms to complete the total renovation of the living/sleeping floor.

The House:

A 1970's red brick ranch on a corner lot, one story and basement, with the expected biparte plan - living area to right and ahead of the front door and sleeping rooms to the left of the door along a three-foot corridor studded with doors. While the living /dining area had a triangular glass wall, the bedroom wing felt dark, narrow and cramped.

The Site:

A corner lot in an area of eclectic small homes close to the Capitol.

The Program:

  • Open the living area of the house to appear as one very large space
  • Reinvent the narrow bedroom wing corridor to feel light and open
  • Renovate kitchen, with an eating bar, large pantry and desk
  • Keep lines crisp and clean
  • Focus on the edge between indoor and outdoor living areas

The Design Strategies:

  • The Big Move: Slice open the roof and insert a 45' long skylight -- nearly the length of the house -- creating a powerful axis of light to unify the various small functional spaces, all of which participate in the constantly changing drama of light. Open the hall with clerestory glass into bedrooms and bath to let in light.
  • Focus on space beyond by glazing corners with glass to glass, providing vertical slices of light and bringing outside "inside".
  • Redefine spaces and sculpt interior walls to create controlled views from and through the whole house.
  • Constrast minimal details with deliberate, sometimes complex details to direct the attention of the viewer. view connections as art.
Click here to return to Projects Page
project
project