Anice Hoachlander/HD Photo
The boxy front elevation of this house outside Washington, D.C., may appear subdued. But just behind and to the left of it lurks an unexpected surprise: a second, copper-clad volume exactly the shade and sheen of a brand new penny. The beautifully simple setup, an extensive remodel and addition to a 1930s Colonial, won the judges’ admiration. “The strength of this project is the plan,” said one.
Architect David Jameson conceived the two forms as an interplay between heavy and light, as well as past and present. “The two bars slip past each other,” he says. “One is rooted to the ground, and one is a very light garden pavilion.” Influenced by the anti-ornament writings of the Czech-born, early-20th-century architect Adolf Loos, Jameson re-clad the existing brick house in plain stucco to create the heavier front element. Stone walls further anchor it to the site. Its almost anonymous look recalls the International Style houses of the 1920s and ’30s. The buoyant, all-new copper pavilion, meanwhile, cantilevers over a ground-floor window wall, thanks to modern-day engineering. As it fades to bronze and eventually green, its colors will blend in with the leaves around it.
Project Credits
Entrant/Architect: David Jameson Architect, Alexandria, Va.
Builder: Owner (name withheld)
Landscape architect: Gregg Bleam Landscape Architect, Charlottesville, Va.
Living space: 5,500 square feet
Site: .5 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photographer: Anice Hoachlander/HD Photo (except where noted)
Resources: Bathroom/kitchen cabinets: RKI; Bathroom plumbing fittings: Dornbracht; Bathroom plumbing fixtures: Duravit; Dishwasher: Fisher Paykel; Entry doors/interior doors/paneling: RKI; Fireplace: Heatilator; Garage doors: Wayne Dalton; Garbage disposer: In-Sink-Erator; Hardware: Omnia; HVAC equipment: Owens Corning; Kitchen plumbing fittings: Blanco; Kitchen plumbing fixtures: KWC; Lighting fixtures: Halo; Oven: Wolf; Paint: Benjamin Moore; Patio doors/windows: Weathershield; Refrigerator: Sub-Zero; Skylights: Dulles Glass.
