Project Description
Everything old is new again. This circa 1882 home had become a haven
for drug dealers. Owners Bob Young and Christine Paresi, a builder and
an interior designer respectively, hired Matthew McHugh and Sprocket
Design-Build to design something that would maintain the home’s original
integrity but add modern sensibilities.
The designers used steel skeletal frames inside and out for support
and to create a modern and striking design. Cold-rolled steel clads the
exterior, providing a rusted orange-brown patina. “We wanted a unique
piece, since that volume in the center becomes the third-story volume,”
McHugh says. “We didn’t want an attached [element just] stuck on an
existing Victorian building.”
The judges praised the home’s exterior treatment and appreciated
how the designers had integrated something new and fresh into an old
neighborhood.
Inside, McHugh developed a “downtown open loft-style space,”
opening the traditionally high first-floor ceilings by exposing the
beams. The existing interior stairwell was remodeled and new treads,
risers, and handrail elements added. Wide hickory floorboards and
exposed brick warm the space. The integration of wood, steel, and other
metals bring the home into the modern era while still relating to its
original Victorian style.