Project Description
FROM THE AIA MARYLAND:
The Edgemoor neighborhood of Bethesda, Maryland, established
in the early 1920’s, contains a diversity of architectural styles from original
Colonial homes to sprawling contemporary mansions. The siting of this
particular house was established to blend in to the existing fabric of the
neighborhood without calling attention to itself. While acknowledging the
strong architectural history of Edgemoor, this house takes traditional foms and
interjects modern twists creating a tension that carries throughout the design,
creating a home that feels warm and familiar but clean and crisp at the same
time. Each part of the house was
designed and distilled down to its fundamental essence creating a purity of
space and form that is reflected continuously throughout the house. Traditional
materials of stucco, limestone and copper speak to traditional ways of building
while large steel and glass windows and doors, geothermal energy, and synthetic
slate roof make use of modern technologies. Limed oak floors and celebrated
hardware give warmth to the interior while blackened window and door openings
dissolve in the white walls blurring the boundary between interior and
exterior. By removing what is
unnecessary, the house becomes all about proportion, texture and light. There
is complexity in its simplicity and beauty in its restraint.