A Move to the City

Project Details

Project Description

Program This project is the full interior renovation and exterior restoration of an 1890’s rowhouse in the Kalorama district of Washington, DC. This is the second house designed by the architect for this family of four. Following the college graduation of the two daughters, the parents chose to move from their suburban home to a smaller, more efficient urban home. Interior programmatic requirements centered on a living room, a kitchen/dining room, a shared office, a master bedroom, and three additional bedrooms (two for their daughters, one for a guest). Because the existing residence was land locked between adjoining lots, exterior programmatic requirements centered on two terraces - one at the first floor and one at the roof. Solution Previously, this residence had been the sporadically-used offices of a foreign embassy. Based on this occasional use (and as the photographs document), the residence had been greatly neglected, resulting in the need for a full interior demolition. Following this, our major intention was to design a renovation that, while providing the desired interior spaces, would greatly increase the amount of natural light in a rationally organized, energy efficient home. To facilitate this, the floors were zoned with the living room, kitchen/dining room, and rear terrace (relocated from basement) on the first floor, the master bedroom and shared office on the second floor, the additional three bedrooms on the third floor, as well as the family room and exercise room in the basement. A new stair connects the four floors, and terminates at the roof terrace. This stair and its adjacent hallways are detailed to maximize the opportunity to bring natural light into the center of this plan. This detailing includes an open-riser stair, light steel railings, glass floors and a glass monitor occupied by the stair to the roof. Light colored finishes, including tile and quarter-sawn oak floors, also increase the amount of natural light. The full exterior restoration included removing the paint from the front facade, repairing the stone base where damaged, and restoring the historic front door and all of the windows. Energy efficiency was improved by adding spray foam insulation, a high efficiency HVAC system and interior storm windows.