Source: residential architect Magazine
Publication date: 2006-05-01

By residential architect staff

additions to historic west st. mary's manor, st. mary's county, md.

muse architects

washington, d.c.

For Stephen Muse, FAIA, renovating a significant older building brings certain responsibilities. “You always want to pay tribute to the historic house,” he says. The subtle, refined way he and his firm did just that at this Maryland residence won effusive praise from the judges. “They started with a wonderful building and added to it with something just as wonderful,” said one.

The owners of the original, 300-year-old manor house desired an addition that would allow them to live mostly on the first floor. But, understandably, they feared any changes they made would damage the allure of the existing structure. Muse came up with a strategy to allay their concerns—namely, a series of pavilions linked to the main house and to one another by windowed galleries. The procession of spaces includes a new kitchen and family room, a master suite, and an entry hall. As part of the overall renovation, he had the original house painted and reroofed and chose the addition's siding, windows, roofing, and shutters to match. But he left the historic brick untouched as a telltale distinction between old and new.

Photo: Robert C. Lautman RA060501070L4.jpgView image gallery.

principal in charge: Stephen Muse, FAIA, Muse Architects; project architect: Nancy McCarren, AIA, Muse Architects; general contractor: George Fritz, Horizon Builders Inc., Crofton, Md.; landscape architect: Peter Viteretto, Heritage Landscapes, Norwalk, Conn.; project size: 1,097 square feet before, 3,617 square feet after; site size: 412 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photography: Robert C. Lautman, except where noted.

principal in charge: Stephen Muse, FAIA, Muse Architects; project architect: Nancy McCarren, AIA, Muse Architects; general contractor: George Fritz, Horizon Builders Inc., Crofton, Md.; landscape architect: Peter Viteretto, Heritage Landscapes, Norwalk, Conn.; project size: 1,097 square feet before, 3,617 square feet after; site size: 412 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photography: Robert C. Lautman, except where noted.

principal in charge: Stephen Muse, FAIA, Muse Architects; project architect: Nancy McCarren, AIA, Muse Architects; general contractor: George Fritz, Horizon Builders Inc., Crofton, Md.; landscape architect: Peter Viteretto, Heritage Landscapes, Norwalk, Conn.; project size: 1,097 square feet before, 3,617 square feet after; site size: 412 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photography: Robert C. Lautman, except where noted.

principal in charge: Stephen Muse, FAIA, Muse Architects; project architect: Nancy McCarren, AIA, Muse Architects; general contractor: George Fritz, Horizon Builders Inc., Crofton, Md.; landscape architect: Peter Viteretto, Heritage Landscapes, Norwalk, Conn.; project size: 1,097 square feet before, 3,617 square feet after; site size: 412 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photography: Robert C. Lautman, except where noted.

“While it's all of a piece, there are clues like that that help you understand what was original,” one judge noted. “It's extremely well done.”

principal in charge: Stephen Muse, FAIA, Muse Architects; project architect: Nancy McCarren, AIA, Muse Architects; general contractor: George Fritz, Horizon Builders Inc., Crofton, Md.; landscape architect: Peter Viteretto, Heritage Landscapes, Norwalk, Conn.; project size: 1,097 square feet before, 3,617 square feet after; site size: 412 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photography: Robert C. Lautman, except where noted. Click here for product information.

clean drinking house, chevy chase, md.

richard williams architects

washington, d.c.

Keep it simple. This was Richard P. Williams' mantra as he renovated his family's 1943 kit house. The architect knew even before he started sketching that he would upgrade the windows and add a copper roof. Honoring the existing home's rigorous floor plan, he contained the additions within a simple pavilion of flowing spaces. The most frequented areas pinwheel off the living room hub. “We wanted to keep the no-nonsense quality of the plan, but elevate the house to a crafted piece,” says Williams, AIA.

Materials like bamboo flooring, blackened steel mullions, and custom concrete pieces satisfied the latter requirement. Twin polycarbonate roof panels distinguish the addition, which draws sunlight from abundant windows. Public areas segue into terraces, making the most of adjacent forested parkland.

“We weren't interested in zoomy moves or elaborate details,” Williams says. “I let architectural relationships, natural light, and celebration of materials really come through.” The judges celebrated those decisions, which they said resulted in a “modern house with a lot of warmth” and “an elegant, masterful plan.”

Photo: Richard P. Williams RA060501070L8.jpgView image gallery.

project architect / interior designer: Richard P. Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects; general contractor: Brad Pritchard, Pritchard Construction, Bethesda, Md.; project size: 1,820 square feet before, 3,400 square feet after; site size: 0.75 acre; construction cost: $150 per square foot; photography: Richard P. Williams, except where noted.

project architect / interior designer: Richard P. Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects; general contractor: Brad Pritchard, Pritchard Construction, Bethesda, Md.; project size: 1,820 square feet before, 3,400 square feet after; site size: 0.75 acre; construction cost: $150 per square foot; photography: Richard P. Williams, except where noted.

project architect / interior designer: Richard P. Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects; general contractor: Brad Pritchard, Pritchard Construction, Bethesda, Md.; project size: 1,820 square feet before, 3,400 square feet after; site size: 0.75 acre; construction cost: $150 per square foot; photography: Richard P. Williams, except where noted.

project architect / interior designer: Richard P. Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects; general contractor: Brad Pritchard, Pritchard Construction, Bethesda, Md.; project size: 1,820 square feet before, 3,400 square feet after; site size: 0.75 acre; construction cost: $150 per square foot; photography: Richard P. Williams, except where noted. Before the renovation, the house had little connection to the wooded yard and protected parkland beyond. The updated version, with its 10-foot-by-10-foot steel grid of windows and doors, offers direct connections to the outdoors. The master suite's windows are elevated for privacy because they face the street. To increase the flow of natural light, polycarbonate panels substitute for walls and roofing.

project architect / interior designer: Richard P. Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects; general contractor: Brad Pritchard, Pritchard Construction, Bethesda, Md.; project size: 1,820 square feet before, 3,400 square feet after; site size: 0.75 acre; construction cost: $150 per square foot; photo: Scott Robinson. Before the renovation, the house had little connection to the wooded yard and protected parkland beyond. The updated version, with its 10-foot-by-10-foot steel grid of windows and doors, offers direct connections to the outdoors. The master suite's windows are elevated for privacy because they face the street. To increase the flow of natural light, polycarbonate panels substitute for walls and roofing.

project architect / interior designer: Richard P. Williams, AIA, Richard Williams Architects; general contractor: Brad Pritchard, Pritchard Construction, Bethesda, Md.; project size: 1,820 square feet before, 3,400 square feet after; site size: 0.75 acre; construction cost: $150 per square foot; photography: Richard P. Williams, except where noted. Click here for product information.

back of house, dallas

shipley architects

dallas

If outdoor spaces are unappealing they go unused. So Dan Shipley, FAIA, made sure his renovations to this 1960s ranch house shaped its previously uninteresting, alley-facing backyard into a favorite hangout. The home's newly added master suite and detached carport with upper-level studio combine to create a quiet courtyard. Exterior hardscape seamlessly blends old and new, and a vocabulary of stucco and commercial storefront windows ensures additions read as such.

“The intent was for a complete departure that still forged a positive relationship with the main house,” Shipley explains. “We saved the trees and started from scratch.” Those trees add vertical movement and organic elements to Shipley's industrial design. And his subtle changes, such as offsetting the steel pergola, frame the homeowners' views of the trees.

Photo: Charles D. Smith RA060501070L12.jpgView image gallery.

project architect: Dan Shipley, FAIA, Shipley Architects; general contractor: Bob Sullivan, Sullivan Design and Construction, Dallas; landscape architect: Michael Kinlear, Rendata's, Arlington, Texas; project size: 2,800 square feet before, 3,800 square feet after (including exterior); site size: 1 acre; construction cost: $175 per square foot; photography: Charles D. Smith.

project architect: Dan Shipley, FAIA, Shipley Architects; general contractor: Bob Sullivan, Sullivan Design and Construction, Dallas; landscape architect: Michael Kinlear, Rendata's, Arlington, Texas; project size: 2,800 square feet before, 3,800 square feet after (including exterior); site size: 1 acre; construction cost: $175 per square foot; photography: Charles D. Smith.

project architect: Dan Shipley, FAIA, Shipley Architects; general contractor: Bob Sullivan, Sullivan Design and Construction, Dallas; landscape architect: Michael Kinlear, Rendata's, Arlington, Texas; project size: 2,800 square feet before, 3,800 square feet after (including exterior); site size: 1 acre; construction cost: $175 per square foot; photography: Charles D. Smith. Shipley's design uses built elements to frame desirable exterior spaces such as the main outdoor living room. Because the site slopes down to the windows in back, views reveal primarily grass and low plantings, with no sign of the neighbors or back alley.

project architect: Dan Shipley, FAIA, Shipley Architects; general contractor: Bob Sullivan, Sullivan Design and Construction, Dallas; landscape architect: Michael Kinlear, Rendata's, Arlington, Texas; project size: 2,800 square feet before, 3,800 square feet after (including exterior); site size: 1 acre; construction cost: $175 per square foot; photography: Charles D. Smith.

Although the site's new structures consume some of the outdoor space, Shipley believes they visually enlarge it. “They make the whole yard seem bigger because you can feel the space moving around you, but you can't tell how big it is.” The judges agreed, confirming Shipley's assertion that a house makes the best use of its site when it's designed with outdoor spaces in mind.

project architect: Dan Shipley, FAIA, Shipley Architects; general contractor: Bob Sullivan, Sullivan Design and Construction, Dallas; landscape architect: Michael Kinlear, Rendata's, Arlington, Texas; project size: 2,800 square feet before, 3,800 square feet after (including exterior); site size: 1 acre; construction cost: $175 per square foot; photography: Charles D. Smith. Click here for product information.