The meticulous workmanship that went into this project impressed both the judging panel and the home's architect, David Jameson. “There's tremendous craft in this house,” he says. The mason handcut the exterior stone so it forms a flawless ashlar pattern, while the contractor executed the challenge of a 12-by-24-foot window wall without a hitch. The stair railings, made from ¼-inch stainless steel rods, convey the delicacy of piano strings, just as Jameson had intended. “We wanted a railing that shared the taut quality of the house,” he says.
Top-notch construction isn't the home's only strong point. It's got a daringly imagined design as well. The original house on the site was a run-of-the-mill 1930s Colonial—perfectly pleasant, but not particularly exciting. Jameson took the house down to its foundation and re-created it with a Modern vocabulary. A stone-clad core holds the double-height living room, while stucco walls envelop that volume to form the rest of the spaces. “The big idea was to create these long linear stucco walls that wrap and protect the stone pavilion,” says Jameson. The strategy handily gains the owners privacy from their close-by next-door neighbors. Because the house sits on its original footprint, its scale still works with its surroundings. “It's a very bold house for that context,” said one judge.
Entrant/Architect: David Jameson Architect, Alexandria, Va.
Builder: Madden Corp., Rockville, Md.
Landscape architect: Gregg Bleam Landscape Architect, Charlottesville, Va.
Living space: 3,400 square feet
Site: .1 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photographer: Paul Warchol
Resources: Bathroom plumbing fittings: Hansgrohe and KWC; Bathroom plumbing fixtures: Brasstech and Motiv Sine; Dishwasher: Bosch; Garbage disposer: In-Sink-Erator; Hardware: Accurate, FSB, and Hagar; HVAC equipment: Carrier; Kitchen plumbing fixtures: KWC; Lighting fixtures: Iris; Oven: Wolf; Paint: Benjamin Moore; Refrigerator: Sub-Zero; Windows: Parret and Weathershield.
