Town House Interior / By Robert Gurney Architect ~ HouseVariety

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Town House Interior / By Robert Gurney Architect

Washington DC, United States
Robert Gurney Architect
Post By:Kitticoon Poopong

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

Built like its neighbors, over a century ago and part of a continuous network of buildings in a historical district, this town house has been completely renovated. Regulations required that the traditional limestone facade remain intact.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

The bottom floor of the facade has been reworked within the existing limestone composition in an effort to provide a separate entrance and storefront for a commercial tenant in the lower level. The rear facade, located in an alley has been completely reworked to provide more light into the building.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

The 18-foot-wide-by-100-foot-long structure occupies the entire site. Interior spaces were typically dark with 9-foot-high ceilings, the result of a previous renovation.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

Design concept and solution:
The architect reworked the bottom floor within the existing limestone composition in an effort to provide a separate entrance and storefront for a commercial tenant on the lower level. The exterior at the rear of the house, which faces an alley, has been completely redesigned to bring more light into the building.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

The majority of existing floor joists were retained to reuse the existing structural system and leave the historical limestone façade undisturbed. To change the redundancy of continuous 9-foot-high ceilings, a 12-foot-wide section of the third floor, the width of the row house, was removed. Located directly above this opening, a similar sized skylight infuses the interior with light. Another section of the third floor was removed to accommodate a stair system. Above the new steel and aluminum stairs, a rooftop addition opens to adjacent terraces and provides outdoor living spaces with rooftop views.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

Exposed brick walls, painted white, are juxtaposed to blue epoxy floors. Floor openings with bridges, skylights, and a three-story galvanized steel wall animate the spaces and integrate the floors vertically. Spaces comprise glass and steel elements and unify a diverse but consistent palette of materials, resulting in a modern spatial quality within a traditional town house typology.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

A 12-by-18-foot section of the floor above the main living level, allowing for a broad staircase and creating front and back living spaces on the bedroom level, linked by a catwalk. Then he peeled back a similar-size chunk of the roof directly above the staircase, replacing it with a glass ceiling, or mega-skylight. At the rear of the upper floor there’s a staircase that leads to a new roof deck, and that opening lets in even more light. Gurney also opened up the rear facade of the building; it now is an orderly march of handsome, industrial-style windows, bringing in yet more light.

After its completion, the project won an AIA National Honor Award and more recently, an American Architecture Award.

Photo © Courtesy of Paul Warchol Photography

site plan--drawing © Courtesy of Robert Gurney Architect

floor plans-after--drawing © Courtesy of Robert Gurney Architect

Project Data
Location: Washington DC, United States

Project Year: 2007

The people
Architect: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect
Associate architect(s): John Riordan, LEED AP

Engineer(s): D. Anthony Beale LLC
General contractor: Prill Construction
Photographer: Paul Warchol Photography

The products
Exterior cladding
Masonry: Existing
Metal/glass curtainwall
Kalwall (alley façade)
Windows
Wood: Refurbished existing
Steel: Hope’s Steel Windows (Alley Façade)
Glazing
Skylights: Custom
Hardware
Locksets: FSB
Interior finishes
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Poliform (kitchen)
Paints and stains: Sherwin Williams paint.
Paneling: Galvanized Steel and Stainless Steel Wall Panels
Resilient flooring: FusionFlex seamless floor system
Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: ANTA; Artemide; Bega
Downlights: Lightolier
Task lighting: Lightolier
Exterior Controls: Lutron
Plumbing
Bathroom Fittings (Faucets, etc.): Hans Grohe; Vola; Speakman
Bathroom Fixtures (Sinks, etc.): Kohler; Toto; Duravit
Kitchen Fittings (Faucets, etc.): KWC
Kitchen Fixtures (Sinks, etc.): Per Poliform

Note>>Location in this map, It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

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Saturday, August 27, 2011