richard williams architects, washington, d.c.
The architect and the owner, a landscape architect, worked in tandem from day one of this project—and it shows. Perched on the edge of a river gorge, the house and guesthouse align from south to north and are linked by a stone wall that serves as a spine. In between, overlapping interior and exterior spaces keep the lush setting front and center. “We'd flip things back and forth until we found a nice balance between the formality of the house and this pretty rough and rambunctious landscape,” says Richard Williams, AIA. “We looked at vernacular forms, stretching the dimensions to a point where it seemed spacious but never out of scale.”
One judge said the design “elevates the mundane Virginia farmhouse, yet does so with a complete lack of pretension.”
principal in charge: Richard Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects
project architect: Timothy Abrams, AIA, LEED AP, Richard Williams Architects
general contractor: Gretchen Yahn, Castlerock Enterprises, Hume, Va.
landscape architect: Richard Arentz, ASLA, Arentz Landscape Architects, Washington, D.C.
interior designer: José Solis, Solis Betancourt, Washington, D.C.
project size: 5,700 square feet (main house), 700 square feet (guesthouse)
site size: 85 acres
construction cost: $297 per square foot
photography: Paul Burk Photography, except where noted.
product specs
bathroom fittings: Kohler Co.; bathroom fixtures: Hansgrohe;dishwasher: Miele; doors: TruStile Doors; garage doors: Clopay Building Products; garbage disposer: In-Sink-Erator; hardware: HOPPE North America; hvac equipment: Carrier Corp.; kitchen fittings: Franke Consumer Products; kitchen fixtures: Dornbracht Americas; lighting fixtures: Lightolier; oven/range: DCS by Fisher & Paykel; paints/stains/wall finishes: Benjamin Moore & Co.; refrigerator: Sub-Zero; skylights/roof windows: VELUX A/S; windows: Loewen
