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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