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The Binder Residence
Silver Spring, MD
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“Whatever creativity is, it is in part a solution to a problem.” – Brian W. Aldiss
Challenges are a given; in the case of this project they were seemingly insurmountable.
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In many respects, this was a most conventional project: a busy, growing family found themselves bursting the seams of their small WWII-era home. There was one tiny bathroom for Mom, Dad and two daughters approaching their teens. The younger daughter occupied a bedroom a diminutive 85 feet square. A miniature kitchen and dining room that’s crowded with 6 served their active social life. Professional needs required a serious, dedicated home office.
The conventional solution would have been to construct a compact three story mass at the rear of the house, with office space at the bottom, a kitchen/family space on the main level, and a master suite above.
However, the configuration of the lot and terrain conspired against this. The lot was oblique and unusually shallow, and the slope was severe. The rear setback line would only allow an addition of 8’ 5” at one end, pinching down to 3’ 8” at the other. |
On reflection, the solution was clear; to build what is in effect a screen that wraps around the back and sides of the house, creating an ample three level addition. This project incorporated elements of greenbuilding, in particular passive solar design using calibrated roof overhangs to minimize the heat absorption of the suns rays in the summer yet not interfere with free solar heat in the winter; the Western exposure allows the afternoon sun to stream in through the "wall" of windows, heating the masonry mass of what used to be the exterior of the house, storing the heat of the sun and radiating it back at dinnertime.
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(click to enlarge) |
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On the ground level we created a large new office space, closet, mudroom and bathroom.
On the main level we tore down the old front porch and added a generous new porch. In the original kitchen we moved the door over, knocked out the old brick wall (with one tiny window) and created an archway, hugged by two L-shaped work areas, opening into the breakfast room (Fig 3). The breakfast room sweeps around to a large, gracious dining room. From the original space we created a pass through to the reading room, a small 3/4 bath and a gallery hallway. Outside we added a lovely new deck.
On the second level we turned the older daughter's small bedroom into a dressing room and transitional area to the new master suite which was to include a large closet, a master bath and a tv viewing room.
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The result of our efforts was resonant space that allows for more than just a well organized home with room to spread out. The new space nurtures our need for feeling sheltered while giving us the feeling of boundless layers of space.
Take, for example, the sitting room (Fig 1), a deceptively simple design, as you look into the room from the doorway you see a cozy sheltered reading nook, and yet your eye is led to the window, symmetrically placed so that the resulting view is not only of geometry repeated but one also of vast openness.
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Fig 4: Master bedroom.
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The theme of sweeping space is continued in the kitchen and dining areas (Figs. 2 and 3). Several seating areas, intimate and cozy as well as more formal and gracious, surround the bright, large, efficient kitchen, which is slightly elevated from the other areas. These areas, like the reading room, invite one to regard the views, like torii gates (japanese shinto shrine archways), compelling the eye and the spirit to travel through them. Throughout these spaces the exposed brick wall of the original structure adds texture and interest
Exposed brick from the original structure adds textural interest to the cathedral ceilings of the master suite (Fig. 4), which includes a large dressing room that was taken from what was once a small bedroom, ample closet space, a luxurious master bath with separate shower (Fig. 5), a media viewing area (Fig. 6) and a charming seating area (Fig 7).
Fig. 5: Master bathroom
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Fig. 6: Media viewing area
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Fig. 7: Seating area
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