Page 102 - Fall 2019
P. 102
Citation for Sustainable Design
Spencer Carriage House
Deep Energy
Retrofit/Restoration
Washington, DC
Peabody Architects/Deco
Design Studio
Structural Engineers: Rossetti Engineering, PLLC
Energy Auditors: Conway Energy
General Contractor: Federalist Builders
The Spencer Carriage House project, located in an alley
in Washington’s Dupont Circle neighborhood, converted
a two-story, 1905 stable and carriage house designated as
a DC landmark building into a single-family residence.
Renovated exterior of the carriage house. Photo © David Peabody
The project was designed by Peabody Architects and
Deco Design Studio.
Peabody Architects focuses on “making homes with
a smaller carbon footprint, filled with non-toxic, recycled
materials. Today all of our new work is built to the Passive
House standard, using only 15-20% of the heating and
cooling energy of a code-built structure.” The Spencer
Carriage House project, the firm said, is the first Passive
House-level retrofit of a designated DC Landmark building.
The project restored and renovated “one of the last
remaining stable/carriage houses built to serve the large
mansions in the Dupont Circle area,” the firm said.
“Originally, the horses and carriages were housed below,
and servants above. Over the last hundred years, the
building has been used as a garage, a car dealership, a
fashionable restaurant, and in its last incarnation, a popular
Dupont Circle nightclub.”
A key aim of the project was “to exceed the District of
Columbia’s 50 by 32 goals, achieving as close to net-zero
energy use as possible without sacrifice to comfort or
Kitchen. Photo © BuzzPhoto
lifestyle.” Washington’s Sustainable DC Plan, adopted
in 2012, calls for, among other things, reducing citywide
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing
the use of renewable energy, by 50% by the year 2032.
As renovated, the first floor contains guest bedrooms,
a small apartment, and utility spaces, while the second
floor includes a large, open, living/dining/kitchen area
and the master suite. A small separate catering kitchen
serves large events. An attic-level space not visible from
the street was carved out for a small entertaining deck
and outdoor kitchen.
The house “is zero-energy ready, with space available
on the south roof for the 16.3-kilowatt photovoltaic array
that would be required [to achieve net-zero energy use],”
the firm stated. “Current DC Historic Preservation
Review Board requirements do not allow visible solar
arrays on Landmark buildings.”
Summing up the project, the firm said: “We live in a
climate emergency. This client chose to act accordingly.”
Master bedroom window. Photo © David Peabody
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