The Hillmead Residence sits in a remarkable 30,000 square foot lot. It stands guard perched up about 40ft above street level but, unlike some of its neighbors, it doesn’t dominate the landscape, it blends with it. The original 1938 house was designed as part of a trend set by European-trained architects in the DC Area. The original Tudor style home evoked a quintessentially British charm and had a strong architectural presence featuring uniquely irregular brick, steep gabled roofs covered in slate tiles, metal windows with leaded glass, dark interiors with wood panels, and exposed trussed ceilings, to name a few remarkable features.

Upon studying the original drawings, the initial focus was to rediscover the original house by eliminating the 1980s additions which had simply been stuck on one end and in the back to expand the original kitchen. The original house had a stunning, double-height living room, with exposed wood trusses and a first floor with a kitchen, dining room and office. After climbing the original, but non-conforming, semi-circular staircase to the second floor, the house split into two bedrooms and a bathroom.

To attach a modern addition to such a compact and elegant design required a careful study of its proportions and its placement on the site. Its proximity to the steep part of the site made the backyard non existent and the outdoor space very uncomfortable. The first idea was to create a courtyard that would allow a continuous interaction between two buildings: the original house and a separate, but connected, addition. That connection between the old and the new became a glass-clad element and that’s where most of the circulation is located.

The original residence has the same layout as before, but it is now completely open to the adjacent addition. The new European kitchen is in the same location, it is bright, and modern with some vintage accents. The original dining room and the stunning living room are in the same place, but they can now be viewed from multiple areas of the house.

The first volume of the addition was originated completely from the proportions of the main house: it has the same width and the same roof pitch. This hosts the family room and a bedroom upstairs. The second volume hosts the master suite and a guest bedroom with a patio, and is connected by a glass and steel staircase. The new volume keeps the same proportions but, following a more modern approach, morphs into a cube towards the woods and features large windows that follow the 1938 house proportions.

The addition forms an L with the original house and pays homage to it by using a modern version of the same industrial materials: metal, brick, glass, concrete, wood. Nestled into the steep hill, the new courtyard steps down from the landscape connecting the exterior of the two buildings.

The result is a home with a more functional sequence of spaces for a more contemporary lifestyle.