reinventing the
Three renovation projects in the city show that saving an existing building is often the most sustainable move.
ReinventinG THE
Row House
T
B Y N I G E L F. M AY N A R D
he term “green building” calls to mind such things as compact fluorescent bulbs, odor-free paints and highefficiency appliances. Indeed, a green or sustainable house incorporates all of those things, but they are secondary in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes, reusing an existing house in an urban location is a more meaningful strategy. Urban homes near existing infrastructure reduce additional development and save resources. They’re also near transit so people drive less. The following three Washington, D.C., projects demonstrate that reusing an old building is sometimes the greenest thing you can do.
42 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
PHOTOS Courtesy of Studio 27/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
CAPITOL HILL Located on Capitol Hill, the Rincon Bates Residence is Studio Twenty Seven Architecture’s continued exploration of sustainable urban residential design. The 1906 row house was plagued with the typical problems—dark rooms—before the clients asked the firm for a green, modern makeover. “They thought the house was too confining,” said Todd Ray, a principal at the firm. “They wanted something bright and airy, and they wanted a space to display artwork.”
Studio Twenty Seven transforms an early 20th-century row house into an eco-friendly, light-filled space. Opposite: The back facade was completely changed to emit more natural light.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 43
CAPITOL HILL Studio Twenty Seven gutted the end-unit row house and redesigned the interior as one common living area with subtle space separations within it. To create a good thermal envelope, the firm applied sprayed foam insulation in the roof, exterior exposed wall and the wall between the adjoining unit. They added new insulated windows and doors, as well as operable skylights that create a thermal chimney to suck warm air out of the house. The firm maintained the traditional brick-front street elevation, but they inserted a pared back, modern rear façade with a large folding glass door. They removed a section of the second level floor joists to carve a void through the middle of the house,
Floor joists were removed from the second floor to open up the space.
The first floor space is now one continuous space.
44 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
The bathrooms are equipped with low flow faucets.
enabling shared light between all spaces. The second floor is divided into two bedroom suites, connected by a tubular steel and glass bridge that permits light to penetrate below. As expected the home includes all the prerequisite green features such as ENERGY STAR appliances, bamboo flooring, composite decking made with 100 percent recycled content, no-odor paint, solar water heating, water conserving plumbing products, and a high-efficiency gas-fired boiler that feeds the radiant heating system. “If you’re going to do a radiant system and you can do it with a gas-fired boiler, it’s going to be much better than an electric boiler,” Ray said. “An electric furnace is just not as cost effective for the energy that’s generated.”
The second floor bridge is made of tubular steel and glass, allowing light to flow from the skylights to the first floor. Windows were also added to the side of the building for additional light.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 45
PHOTOS Courtesy of Robert M. Gurney, FAIA/ photoS by Maxwell MacKenzie
a
MOUNT VERNON SQUARE bout 3½ miles to the northwest of the Rincon Bates house, in the Mt. Vernon Square section of the city, award-winning firm Robert Gurney Architect also re-imagined an existing house as a modern, light-filled urban space. The owners, who had lived in the home for a number of years, wanted something modern and fresh. “The house was a compartmentalized, small, dark row house,” said principal Robert M. Gurney. “We basically opened the whole house up.”
46 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
Robert M. Gurney Architect creates a modern home with a historical street-facing façade in Mount Vernon Square. The rear façade became a wall of glass. The hallway floor is made of glass.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 47
The bedroom’s décor is serene.
MOUNT VERNON SQUARE
A glass fireplace takes centerstage in the living room.
48 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
Interiors are kept modern and uncluttered.
The firm took the use of glass a step further, incorporating it into the stair treads.
The firm retained the front elevation because, according to Gurney, “the proportions were good and the windows were as big as they could be.” But the firm made major changes inside, gutting the house completely and removing the entire rear façade. It relocated the kitchen and living space from the basement and moved it to the entry level. A new staircase and a glass bridge connect all three floors, and a large skylight above the staircase bathes the space in light. Gurney re-imagined the rear façade as a wall of glass that also brings in copious amounts of light. The glass creates visual access to the ground-level terrace, blurring the lines between inside and out. Gurney also noted that daylight was a major green strategy because it allows the homeowners to keep the lights off during the day. In addition, the 1,200-square-foot house features Low E glazing, ENERGY STAR appliances, a high-efficiency gas boiler that drives an in-floor radiant heating on the ground floor, and a gas fireplace.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 49
PHOTOS Courtesy of Inscape Studio
Inscape Studio introduced a gas fireplace into the updated space for warmth and ambiance. Right: Transom and sidelights allow more natural light to filter into the once dark space.
50 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
j
ADAMS MORGAN
ust to the north, in the vibrant Adams Morgan area, Inscape Studio applied affordable, low-tech solutions to bring a circa 1900 row house into the 21st century. Whiz-bang green technologies are fine, designer and principal Greg A. Kearley allowed, but big-picture items are more important. “I live in the city, I work in the city and I walk to work,” he said. “I don’t own a car, so all those things are part of the big picture when you talk about sustainability.” The house had seen better days and needed some upgrades. “It was a house that hadn’t had any improvement in a number of years,”
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 51
Shelving slides open to reveal a dining room.
A walled patio off the kitchen offers additional living space.
52 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
Large glass doors offer the homeowners a bright kitchen.
ADAMS MORGAN
noted Kearley, which is why the architects focused on updating the finishes and on making the spaces brighter. “The problem with most row houses is that you have these long narrow spaces without much natural light,” Kearley explained. To solve this problem, Inscape designed a new kitchen that opens up to courtyard with French
doors, windows and transoms to make the space feel bigger. The design was all about simple, low-tech solutions for improving the house, but the firm also chose sustainable or green materials, such as ENERGY STAR appliances and eco-conscious linoleum floors, high efficiency windows and doors, and low-VOC paints.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 53
ReinventinG THE
Row House
T
B Y N I G E L F. M AY N A R D
he term “green building” calls to mind such things as compact fluorescent bulbs, odor-free paints and highefficiency appliances. Indeed, a green or sustainable house incorporates all of those things, but they are secondary in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes, reusing an existing house in an urban location is a more meaningful strategy. Urban homes near existing infrastructure reduce additional development and save resources. They’re also near transit so people drive less. The following three Washington, D.C., projects demonstrate that reusing an old building is sometimes the greenest thing you can do.
42 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
PHOTOS Courtesy of Studio 27/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
CAPITOL HILL Located on Capitol Hill, the Rincon Bates Residence is Studio Twenty Seven Architecture’s continued exploration of sustainable urban residential design. The 1906 row house was plagued with the typical problems—dark rooms—before the clients asked the firm for a green, modern makeover. “They thought the house was too confining,” said Todd Ray, a principal at the firm. “They wanted something bright and airy, and they wanted a space to display artwork.”
Studio Twenty Seven transforms an early 20th-century row house into an eco-friendly, light-filled space. Opposite: The back facade was completely changed to emit more natural light.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 43
CAPITOL HILL Studio Twenty Seven gutted the end-unit row house and redesigned the interior as one common living area with subtle space separations within it. To create a good thermal envelope, the firm applied sprayed foam insulation in the roof, exterior exposed wall and the wall between the adjoining unit. They added new insulated windows and doors, as well as operable skylights that create a thermal chimney to suck warm air out of the house. The firm maintained the traditional brick-front street elevation, but they inserted a pared back, modern rear façade with a large folding glass door. They removed a section of the second level floor joists to carve a void through the middle of the house,
Floor joists were removed from the second floor to open up the space.
The first floor space is now one continuous space.
44 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
The bathrooms are equipped with low flow faucets.
enabling shared light between all spaces. The second floor is divided into two bedroom suites, connected by a tubular steel and glass bridge that permits light to penetrate below. As expected the home includes all the prerequisite green features such as ENERGY STAR appliances, bamboo flooring, composite decking made with 100 percent recycled content, no-odor paint, solar water heating, water conserving plumbing products, and a high-efficiency gas-fired boiler that feeds the radiant heating system. “If you’re going to do a radiant system and you can do it with a gas-fired boiler, it’s going to be much better than an electric boiler,” Ray said. “An electric furnace is just not as cost effective for the energy that’s generated.”
The second floor bridge is made of tubular steel and glass, allowing light to flow from the skylights to the first floor. Windows were also added to the side of the building for additional light.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 45
PHOTOS Courtesy of Robert M. Gurney, FAIA/ photoS by Maxwell MacKenzie
a
MOUNT VERNON SQUARE bout 3½ miles to the northwest of the Rincon Bates house, in the Mt. Vernon Square section of the city, award-winning firm Robert Gurney Architect also re-imagined an existing house as a modern, light-filled urban space. The owners, who had lived in the home for a number of years, wanted something modern and fresh. “The house was a compartmentalized, small, dark row house,” said principal Robert M. Gurney. “We basically opened the whole house up.”
46 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
Robert M. Gurney Architect creates a modern home with a historical street-facing façade in Mount Vernon Square. The rear façade became a wall of glass. The hallway floor is made of glass.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 47
The bedroom’s décor is serene.
MOUNT VERNON SQUARE
A glass fireplace takes centerstage in the living room.
48 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
Interiors are kept modern and uncluttered.
The firm took the use of glass a step further, incorporating it into the stair treads.
The firm retained the front elevation because, according to Gurney, “the proportions were good and the windows were as big as they could be.” But the firm made major changes inside, gutting the house completely and removing the entire rear façade. It relocated the kitchen and living space from the basement and moved it to the entry level. A new staircase and a glass bridge connect all three floors, and a large skylight above the staircase bathes the space in light. Gurney re-imagined the rear façade as a wall of glass that also brings in copious amounts of light. The glass creates visual access to the ground-level terrace, blurring the lines between inside and out. Gurney also noted that daylight was a major green strategy because it allows the homeowners to keep the lights off during the day. In addition, the 1,200-square-foot house features Low E glazing, ENERGY STAR appliances, a high-efficiency gas boiler that drives an in-floor radiant heating on the ground floor, and a gas fireplace.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 49
PHOTOS Courtesy of Inscape Studio
Inscape Studio introduced a gas fireplace into the updated space for warmth and ambiance. Right: Transom and sidelights allow more natural light to filter into the once dark space.
50 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
j
ADAMS MORGAN
ust to the north, in the vibrant Adams Morgan area, Inscape Studio applied affordable, low-tech solutions to bring a circa 1900 row house into the 21st century. Whiz-bang green technologies are fine, designer and principal Greg A. Kearley allowed, but big-picture items are more important. “I live in the city, I work in the city and I walk to work,” he said. “I don’t own a car, so all those things are part of the big picture when you talk about sustainability.” The house had seen better days and needed some upgrades. “It was a house that hadn’t had any improvement in a number of years,”
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 51
Shelving slides open to reveal a dining room.
A walled patio off the kitchen offers additional living space.
52 FALL 2011 | ENERGY OF THE CITY
Large glass doors offer the homeowners a bright kitchen.
ADAMS MORGAN
noted Kearley, which is why the architects focused on updating the finishes and on making the spaces brighter. “The problem with most row houses is that you have these long narrow spaces without much natural light,” Kearley explained. To solve this problem, Inscape designed a new kitchen that opens up to courtyard with French
doors, windows and transoms to make the space feel bigger. The design was all about simple, low-tech solutions for improving the house, but the firm also chose sustainable or green materials, such as ENERGY STAR appliances and eco-conscious linoleum floors, high efficiency windows and doors, and low-VOC paints.
ENERGY OF THE CITY | FALL 2011 53
