Location
Washington, DC
Status
Completed 2004
Client
Gordon and Carla Bremer
Cost
$750,000
The 4,000 sf project involved the renovation and addition to an historic townhouse on Washington DC’s historic Capitol Hill. The front façade will be restored as part of this comprehensive renovation. The rear façade is designed to be a contemporary adaptation of Capitol Hill facades.
The interior lacked the ornate details of many similar residences due to a 1960s renovation, so the architects took a more contemporary approach to the design and layout of the plan. Due to the dark interior typical of a rowhouse, the architects introduced an interior light well below a new greenhouse, bringing natural light down to the lower floors. The location, orientation and height of the new greenhouse takes advantage of views of the dome of the nearby U.S. Capitol. Due to the sensitive nature of additions in Capitol Hill, the greenhouse was carefully located away from the streetfront, thereby allowing for an exterior roof garden behind the turret at the street front. As part of the process, the architects worked with local community Area Neighborhood Commissions and the Historic Preservation Review Board to develop appropriate solutions to the exterior elevations