Case Studies
The Lempert / Ricci Residence Takoma Park, MD
View Project Photo Gallery: After (6)
This project is an addition to and renovation of a vintage house in the heart of the Takoma Park historic district. The house was built originally in the Craftsman style, Early on - probably in the 1920's or '30's - the house was remodeled with a colonial sensibility.
Garden design by landscape architect Holt Jordan (click to enlarge) |
Our objective with this project was to take area that had been turned into a screened porch - designed and built by us in 1983 - and make it part of the living space by enclosing it. The addition had to be integrated into the owner's English-style garden and provide a convenient connection to the driveway for frequent comings and goings. |
We blended the addition with the house using classical elements and cement stucco. The canopy over the front doors, crafted from reclaimed cedar timbers, links the family room with the garden.
Fig. 1: Column entablature(click to enlarge) |
Fig. 2: Front elevation (click to enlarge) |
Fig. 3: Access to driveway (click to enlarge) |
Our focus for this project was energy efficiency and our goal was to increase the living space of the house by 240 square feet - that is, increasing the living area of the house by 15% - without adding to the heating load.
To accomplish this the walls and roof were designed with a complex assembly of multiple layers of foam panels and sprayed in place foam insulation.
When we designed this project we did a computer based energy analysis which predicted that we would meet our objective. Now, after the addition has been in use for 2.5 years we felt we had sufficient data from the owners energy bills to determine if we were successful. After crunching the numbers we found that there was no impact on the owners heating bills even after enlarging their home by 15%! |
(click to enlarge) |
Meticulous design and careful use of building materials allow the owners to enjoy added space to their home, maintaining a comfortable space all year long with no added impact on their heating bills.