Project: Renovation of a Residence in Washington, DC
Architect: Barnes Vanze Architects, Washington, DC: Anthony S. Barnes, partner in charge;
Steve Shottler, project architect
Contractor: Linn Company, Oakton, VA
Interior Design: Solis Betancourt, Washington, DC
Landscape Design: Osamu Shimizu, Glen Echo, MD
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Villa in the City
Originally designed by an unknown architect, a residence in Washington, DC, had been subject to neglect over the years and showed no coherence in material selection or style before being renovated by Washington, DC-based Barnes Vanze Architects. The architects’ goal was to reconnect the ca. 1926 house to its landscape and to re-create a Classically informed villa in the city.
The renovation consisted of the removal of the chimney mass from the center of the 4,000-sq.ft. house to its periphery, freeing up the central axis of the house. The architects relocated the mechanical spaces that were originally adjacent to the main stair to an excavated space below the removed chimney mass, which allowed a new maid’s apartment to be added. The main stairway to the top floor was relocated and separated from the entry hall by a transitory space and coat closet. Separated from this entry sequence is a guest bedroom and bath. The rest of the floor is dedicated to the master suite. A reading room/belvedere sits off the master bedroom, and can be closed off with a curtain. The new staircase goes from the main to the top level, where a new bedroom/office with a terrace and bath expands the upper floor. Storage space and another bedroom and bath round out the floor. The previous plan only had storage space and a bathroom on this level. On the lower level, the large space in the rear of the building was transformed into three rooms – the parlor, an expanded living room and dining room. A private dining terrace was excavated on the right front side. All in all, about 455 sq.ft. were added, comprising the two-story rear bay, a large dormer and the underground mechanical area.
“It was a funny little cottage with unseen potential,” explains Anthony S. Barnes, AIA, Principal at Barnes Vanze Architects. “It’s undistinguished from the street but has a Classical repose about it. Our goal was to realize its potential and clean up the oddities of the house.”
One of the main challenges was pulling the elements of the 4,000-sq.ft. house together. “The house was really a mess. Existing materials included painted concrete blocks and board and batten,” Barnes says. “There was no cohesion. The rear of the house was asymmetrical, and the house was very dark in the middle.” In addition, “when you walked into the front hall there were stairs going up and down, with no clear idea of which direction to go.”
Other challenges with the project were the accessibility to private areas, the overly complex arrangement of the lower level rooms and the limited view of the landscape. This last aspect informed the whole renovation, completed in 1999, since the house’s relationship to its site was considered to be a unique feature that was understated in the initial design. Following this path, the French provincial-style exterior of the house was left very modest, concealing the expanse of the site behind it. “While there are a number of French provincial buildings on the streets surrounding this one, it is the only one on this street,” Barnes says. For example, the raised stucco frame at all the door and window openings is typical of the French provincial style, as is the appearance of a traditional load-bearing masonry detail.
The slate roof was retained and restored, and “the volume of the house in general remained the same other than the bay added to the living room,” says Barnes. The entire exterior was stuccoed with natural pigmented cementitious stucco. An entrance portico was added to the existing front dormer, as was a French scrolled gable treatment. On the rear, the architects took off the original asymmetrical bay and put in a new, wider, three-story centered bay. “All the window and door openings were changed to be balanced and symmetrical on each façade,” explains Barnes. “We used a Classical-style formed-stucco crown molding at the cornice and added a small portico to the exterior, which is clad in stucco with ruled joints to create the impression of a rustic stone arch framing the entry,” he adds.
The move of the chimney mass provided a more cohesive circulatory path, enabling the private rooms on the main level to be discreetly accessible. “Circulation was one of the main problems with the original building,” says Barnes. The entry was changed by this move and by the removal of the stairs leading to the upper level, “creating a light well down through the house from a skylight above.” The original stair to the lower floor was “sandwiched completely between walls and was claustrophobic,” he adds. One can now see down the stair shaft into the large living room, while a skylight draws the eye upwards. “It’s appealing to take the journey down the stair,” he explains. “As you descend, the new bay and stone floor pull your eye to new French doors and the large terrace.”
Throughout the house, visual connections are meant to be made with the landscape. The house is intended to accomplish a sense of completeness with its surroundings by capturing nature’s attention to detail. – Marieke Cassia Gartner
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