Judy Davis
A stack of building materials—be they princely or plain—can be assembled in an infinite number of ways. The difference is in the design. And few houses anywhere make a better case for the transformational power of design than this one. The materials involved are commonplace—cement-board siding, glue-laminated beams, off-the-shelf steel stair parts and railings. But in architect Ed Rahme’s design, this simple stuff outdoes itself.The outcome is something close to a miracle in the superheated residential market of suburban Washington, D.C.: a stylish Modernist home at $120 a square foot.
The building’s form is striking but deceptively simple.As Rahme notes, “It is basically a big box” and was very straightforward to frame. Minimizing interior partitions and finish materials also cut costs. The interior glulam stair treads were cut from lumberyard leftovers. Cement board off-cuts were slid between exposed I-joists for a suspended ceiling at the first floor. Topping the second floor are open purlins and the polyurethaned OSB skin of the insulating roof panels.
Builder Kelly Vogan got into the pinchpenny spirit, too. He trusted the owners enough to let them contract directly with his tile man and shop themselves for items that he ordinarily would mark up. “It was a collaboration with the owners on this to keep the cost down.” Vogan gives primary credit to the design, however. “Contemporaries can be simple but complex to make them look simple,and that wasn’t the case here.”
Project Credits
Builder: Vogan Associates, Silver Spring, Md.
Architect: Ed Rahme, Media, Pa.
Living space: 2,623 square feet
Site: .2 acre
Construction cost: $120 a square foot
Photographer: Judy Davis
Resources: Bathroom plumbing fixtures: Kohler; Countertops: Silestone by Cosentino; Dishwasher, oven, refrigerator: Kenmore; Hardware: Schlage; Kitchen plumbing fittings: Chicago; Kitchen plumbing fixtures: Blanco; Lighting fixtures: Arroyo Craftsman; Paints: Behr; Patio doors, windows: Pella; Porcelain tile: Dal-Tile.
Windows of Opportunity
A major cost item in any new home, windows may seem like a good place to economize. But appearance and performance are too important to really scrimp on quality. Short of reducing the number of units, what can you do? Architect Ed Rahme saved his clients a bundle by focusing on which windows actually needed to open. With the roof and wall sheathing on, Rahme and the owners roamed the building, “licking our fingers to see the way the air was moving through the house”—crucial information in a house without air conditioning. Rahme then specified operable windows only where they would aid natural ventilation. Using fixed windows elsewhere saved some $10,000.
