Coach House

Coachhouse involved the transformation of a 1907 brick carriage garage into a light-filled modern home. Tucked behind a courtyard off Florida Avenue, the tiny 25’ x 22’ load-bearing masonry building sat dwarfed by surrounding three- and five-story historic townhouses, completely cut off from rear light or views. To accommodate the homeowner's program, we successfully navigated Zoning and the Historic Preservation Review Board to secure permission for a critical third-floor addition.

The design balances urban constraints with rich architectural narrative:

Contextual Dialogue: Inspired by Edmund Bacon’s "principle of the second man," the new top floor echoes its neighbor’s massing, mirroring a traditional solid-to-void configuration of a modern sleeping porch.
Amplified Presence: The vertical addition gives the diminutive structure a distinct, presence on the avenue, elevating it from a hidden outbuilding to an intentional neighborhood building.
Raw & Refined Interior: The interiors celebrate a triad of identities: part raw, exposed brick coach house; part sleek, modern sanctuary; and part gallery for the owner's extensive collection of art and artifacts.
Vertical Daylighting: A skylit stair zone cuts along the windowless western party wall, drawing daylight deep into the heart of the masonry loadbearing footprint.

Retaining the historic fabric is paired with an eco-conscious infrastructure, including a new green roof, high-performance insulation, all-LED lighting, and a subterranean stormwater management system integrated beneath a completely reimagined entry courtyard.

Awards + Recognition: