Project Description
Seeking to enrich lives and the living experience by placing daily, family interaction at the center of design decision making and envisioning a next-generation home that is classically stylish in disposition and forward-thinking in environmental embrace. The ideal property was acquired in a mid-century modern neighborhood, consisting of 124 similarly-designed homes themselves originally conceived as contemporary, affordable, family-centric housing. The design begins with the intention of creating a heart of the home, an epicenter from which all activity and interaction spirals outward spilling into the yard and trickling to other smaller, private spaces. The original north entrance opened into a small dark, living room that felt as though it was being serviced by the adjoining kitchen, bedroom, and garage. Eliminating the overbearing sense of compartmentalization was imperative and opening the home’s potential meant creating a large airy volume of central living space by extending the kitchen up and out. Today, front-to-back sightlines across the core of the home impart a sense of connectivity from the first step through the door. Careful placement of the added square footage divided into two angular segments built-out to side yard setback lines preserves the backyard’s full volume while leveraging the sun’s southern arch across the property in pursuit of a net-zero footprint. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the home with daylight enlivening every moment while a 7.2 kW photovoltaic system silently harvests enough energy for all of the electrical needs. A ground source heat pump uses the earth’s thermal consistency to heat and cool spaces and provides hot water to the home. An enhanced exterior envelope combines hyper-insulation strategies in the walls (R-30) and roof (R-52) with Low-E coatings on windows to reduce heat gain and thermal loads. Integrated LED lighting and energy star appliances, an electric car-charging station, and automated, remote-access smart-home technology all combine to make this historic home still many years ahead of its contemporaries. The contentious marriage between meeting today’s building codes and affordably preserving the existing historic architecture required an intense design introspection. Maintaining load-bearing window mullions and integrating code-compliant structural supports into an all glass wall called for steel reinforcements and custom-made steel plates for sistering joists, all of which were concealed within the historic framework. Highly articulated design detailing was required for all windows, doors, fascia, and base boards to maintain the historic character. Careful selection of interior finishes was imperative. The material palette was initiated with a warm, rich foundation of woods used on floors, ceilings, cabinetry and millwork in the main living space. Lighting, both natural and installed, plays an important role in establishing ambiance throughout the home and LED’s illuminate spaces at a hospitable, human-scale. Soft hues for surfaces and paints throughout the kitchen and baths are all deftly complimented by period-appropriate style lines resulting in a crisp, cohesive aesthetic. In preserving the home no detail was unattended and a botanist/landscape architect was engaged to assess the condition of the many mature trees on the property in order to help retain the yard’s secret garden quality. In designing, meeting these goals and challenges we have achieved a truly sustainable home that holds continual interaction as a core value of healthy family living.