Page 25 - Spring_2019

ArchDC Spring 2019.qxp_Spring 2019 2/20/19 5:15 PM Page 23

Main living space before the renovation.
Photo © Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect

least-sustainable elements in the house could not be
upgraded legally: The Old Georgetown Board, which has
design review authority over the neighborhood, forbids
replacement of street-facing windows, which, Gurney
noted, also entails retaining the surrounds and trim, and in
turn the uninsulated plaster-on-brick walls. Fortunately,
however, this applied only to the front façade, which
represents a modest percentage of the exterior exposure
of the house.
There is also a perhaps unexpected focus on livability.
“Our work is always based in functionality,” averred
Gurney. In this project, creating an appropriate setting for
top-level art counted as a functional need, but it extends
much further. The grandly-sized formal entertaining and
art display spaces are complemented by more intimate
family spaces, such as the attic-level den. A movie room and
fitness center were carved out of previously-unfinished
basement space. Closets and storage cabinetry are
everywhere, and no point is distant from a bathroom,
something that might be a problem in such a large house.
The new laundry room not only has generous counter
spaces and a built-in ironing board, but also an easy
chair and television.
“Every project in my office has a team of two,” said
Gurney, stressing that Kara McHone, AIA, the project
architect for the row house, was “critical to every detail
and decision.” But credit doesn’t stop there: “The client was
great, the building was great, the contractor was great!”
extolled Gurney. “The art is second to none,” and it has an
obvious fraternity with Gurney’s signature style. Given
such universal attention to quality, one feels confident
about this historic house’s prospects for the next century.

FEDERAL CASE 23