Whole Houses

This renovation and addition to a 1920’s era bungalow is the story of the stewardship of an existing resource from a state of aging into a “second life,” blending tradition and modernity in form and detail.

Sagging structural elements and a cascade of subsequent incremental failures such as leaking window heads and walls out-of-plumb necessitated the removal of the roof and second floor.

Although doubling the square footage of the house, the goal was to avoid “mansionization” and preserve the original intimate character of the house. A garden addition and new second floor were configured under a new form-hugging roof that kept the original bungalow character, yet blended with the asian-modern sensibility that guided the design.

The front of the house preserves the bungalow character while hinting at the modern transformation on the garden side. A series of cross axes from front to rear provides a gradual transition from the cozy original living room to the light-filled and expansive garden rooms.

The kitchen, an integral part of the garden rooms, connects to dining, veranda, and a screened porch, all of which overlook a terraced garden. Sky-lit upper floor rooms are tucked under the roof in front and open onto an airy balcony in the rear.

Sustainable design strategies included the reuse of the house as an existing resource; use of salvaged forest products and recycled roofing; careful choices about shading, orientation, and daylighting; high-efficiency lighting and hvac systems; and attention to indoor air and water quality.

craftsman teahouse

craftsman teahouse

craftsman teahouse

Sitting on the edge of a forest conservation area, this house commands views deep into the forest, complemented by the sounds of a downhill stream on the property.

The house reaches to the sky with a roof deck and stair tower.

A geothermal system, high performance envelope, addressable low voltage lighting delivered over ethernet, stack effect ventilation, passive solar strategies, and panelized construction, all contribute to its sustainable footprint.

forest house

forest house

Sitting on the edge of a forest conservation area, this house commands views deep into the forest, complemented by the sounds of a downhill stream on the property.

A geothermal system, high performance envelope, addressable low voltage lighting delivered over ethernet, stack effect ventilation, passive solar strategies, and panelized construction, all contribute to its sustainable footprint.

Forest House

The Intracoastal Waterway runs along the east coast of the United States, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and comprising many kinds of waterways. This project sits on one of those waterways – the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal – in a wooded beach neighborhood and facing perennial wetlands.

Canal House

Creating a shaded place, saving all the trees on site, capturing yet protected from sun and breeze, maximizing views, creating habitat for bees, birds, and other flora and fauna – these are some of the project’s sustainable strategies employed to decrease energy demand and enhance building-site synergies.

The project focuses on passive sustainable strategies in order to decrease energy demands, and burden on the local utilities, and enhance building-site synergy. By creating a highly performance building envelope, employing a geothermal system, careful zoning, and employing an energy recovery ventilator, energy costs are minimized.

Operable windows and skylights, including in the open, gabled stairway, allow for natural ventilation and take advantage of the stack effect. Reclaimed and recycled materials, LED lighting, and extensive native plantings comprise some of the sustainably minded elements of the project.Canal House

The home is a home for the beach, not a suburban home transplanted to the beach. The heart of the home is where the towels are! Spaces for circulation, gathering, and chance encounters of the extended family and friends who gather and hang about the inside and outsides spaces.

The kitchen bridges the interior and exterior, linking a porch with the living and dining areas. Materials are matter of fact, rough-hewn, utilitarian. A home for the grill, kayaks, laundry, outdoor showers, and beach storage were as important as spaces for sleeping, eating, hanging out.

canalhouse

canal house

canal house

Canal House

Canal House

canal house

Landscape plan by Jordan Honeyman

This 50’s era split level on a small lot needed expanding for the owners’ pattern of living and improved spatial connections internally and to the site. The owners sought to update the house to a more modern state while preserving memories of its original character

They hoped to connect the indoors to the out-of-doors, create spacious, flexible spaces for living and dining with views between spaces, and to make the kitchen the heart of the home. Describing themselves as “accidentally sustainable,” they wanted to pair their design goals with environmentally sound choices.

The first floor spaces were expanded and joined so that dining and gathering can occur “anywhere and everywhere.” The kitchen became the nexus of all activity, joining the living and dining spaces on the first floor to the study/ loggia and entry hall on the half-level below.

BacThe new living space is tall and spacious with terrace doors, windows, skylights and a light shelf on the south wall, welcoming in abundant cross ventilation and natural light. The L-shaped addition embraces a new cypress deck that floats across a grass terrace to a stone wall and rock garden, creating a unifying transition to the outdoors. This main level addition and the second floor addition, perched as a treehouse, embrace the backyard and capture the traversing daylight.k Camera

Sustainably-minded smart envelope design, passive solar heating, natural ventilation, daylighting, radiant floor heat, high insulation values, water-saving fixtures, and low VOC/formaldehyde-free materials complete the balanced design.

Fifties Split

fifties split

fifties split

50s Split

fifties split

Developed by Gardner Mohr Architects LLC, this c.1917 four-square Shingle Style house sits on a double lot in Chevy Chase, Maryland. An eclectic assortment of craftsman windows, saw-tooth shingle siding and interior chestnut trim inspired the rebirth of its Craftsman-at-heart self.

Tropical Craftsman

The program called for the removal of two old rear additions to make way for a new kitchen, a library which also serves as a dining room, a master bedroom suite above and an outdoor lanai, or covered porch.

On the first floor a central, light-filled loggia connects the old with the new and merges the house with the garden.

The kitchen is the central hearth, with warm furnishings, an abundance of south light and easy connections to the lanai, garden, family room and library-dining room

On the second floor the new master bedroom suite includes spacious and calming places for bathing, dressing and sleeping, and enjoys both a panoramic view to the rear garden and a winking eyebrow window to the front.

This house, built in the 1960s, sits southfacing on a terrific wooded lot in Bethesda, Maryland.

The owners desire a whole-house renovation which would improve the general building fabric and systems, and extend the sense of living out of doors in all seasons.

The original sixties-modern character is preserved and the renovation extends the design forward into a contemporary, modern approach. Connections to and through the site are enhanced through the creation of new larger window and door openings.

Screened porches and decks perch above the sloped and wooded site. The new kitchen and bathrooms allow for opportunities to feel out-of -doors while preparing, cooking, dining, and bathing.

Smart passive strategies guide the environmental choices for this project, including envelope improvements, updated mechanical systems, and on-site stormwater management.

treehouse

Treehouse

tree house

This house, originally built in 1929 in Northwest Washington DC, was modified with 1969-era “solarium” additions

The 1969 additions, though deteriorated and always too-hot or too-cold due to poor original construction, nonetheless offered wonderful daylit spaces and made strong connections between the house and the site, perched above Rock Creek Park.

The owners sought to embark on a thorough-going renovation and rehabilitation of the 1969 portions of the house.

Their goals included energy-conserving improvements focused on passive strategies for daylighting and ventilation, and updating the character and identity of the spaces while preserving their value and appeal.

The project includes new cladding, insulation and interior finishes, and mechanical system improvements featuring radiant floors.

Doors, windows and skylights were replaced with high-performance glazing and translucent wall and skylight systems.

sixties solarium

The shape of the spaces allowed the design strategy to feature natural cross ventilation, drawing air in low and exhausting high through the eleven new skylights.

sixties solarium

sixties solarium

sixties solarium

sixties solarium

sixties solarium

Developed by Gardner Mohr Architects LLC, this project in Chevy Chase, Maryland was restricted by zoning to the small footprint of the existing structure.

The Owners needed more space for their growing family, and had as their central goal the creation of a vertical circulation zone that would link the upper and lower levels into one contiguous space for ease of raising 3 young children.

The owners, who were also the contractors, used reclaimed and regional woods throughout the interior and exterior of the house. They selected renewable cementitious siding and shingles on the exterior for their ease of maintenance, durability and environmentally sustainable qualities.

A central, skylit atrium was created which allows easy visual and verbal communication between levels, from the kitchen to the upstairs nursery and from the family room to the master bedroom above

A spacious central hall provides ample space for gathering, circulating, tri-cycling and ball bouncing. An outdoor deck provides additional recreational space while enjoying a view of the neighborhood.

Bay House

The clients had two goals: to create views of the Bay from as many rooms as possible, and to build the most “green” house the budget would bear. The project has achieved LEED Gold certification.

Dramatic views from every room except the foyer and secondary baths were achieved with an open floor plan, large windows and a 2-story living room over which loft rooms have a view the Bay.

The owner’s sustainability goals were met by using passive as well as active strategies. Passive strategies include ventilation, daylighting and shading controls.

Water conservation and harvesting are achieved through low-flow fixture selection, collection and reuse of rainwater, the infiltration of 100% of the storm water on site, and the construction of a “living shoreline” for breeding of aquatic life. Materials were chosen for a minimal impact on the environment.

Geothermal heat pumps provide cooling, radiant floor heating and domestic hot water. A high-performance building envelope consists of an R-55 roof with a white membrane, R-36 vented rain screen walls and triple low-e coated window glass.

Energy Star appliances and lighting further help to reduce energy consumption, and a photovoltaic solar power plant provides electricity which can be consumed on site or “sold” back to the grid.

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bay house