Page 46 - Spring_2019

ArchDC Spring 2019.qxp_Spring 2019 2/20/19 5:17 PM Page 44

Living/dining area.

Although much of the work would be categorized as
restoration, with changes mostly entailing simple updates,
there were also changes that weren’t strictly speaking
necessary, but which enhance the architectural
character. Notably, for exterior brick areas, which
required tuckpointing, the architects specified that the
horizontal joints be raked deeply while the mortar of
vertical joints aligns with the face of the brick. The brick
was then painted white. These moves emphasize the visual
play of the horizontal brick wall against the vertical columns
and slot openings more strikingly than the original red
brick wall with standard flush mortar joints.
Inside, the kitchen was shifted and enlarged,
positioned symmetrically within the structural grid and Living area before renovation,
engaging two of the steel columns. The back wall of the showing the existing indoor pool.
kitchen, with counters and wall cabinets, is white, whereas Photo by Greg Wiedemann
the perpendicular walls are datum-height millwork in the
same American walnut as the rest of the house. These The original house included a proper master suite at
moves tie the kitchen to the grid more rigorously than the west side of the house, separate from the rest of the
the original kitchen did, and reinforce the play of bedrooms, with its own bathroom and closets. But, oddly
intersecting gridlines. enough, it had two single beds, built-in against the side
The architects fully embraced the datum line in the wall. In 1958, this may have been a stylish move, but the
interior reworking, including in the replacement kitchen. concept of the master suite has evolved considerably
This unexpectedly made refrigerator selection one of the since then. With the main living/dining space shifting
most challenging tasks in the entire process, occupying a into the area where the pool was, Wiedemann expanded
disproportionate amount of project architect Sweeney’s the master by one module of the house’s grid. Low walls
time (every renovation project has one such task). After (datum-height, of course) separate the expansive suite
considerable searching, a modern, panel-ready refrigerator into different areas. The bed—now king-size, and no
lower than 7 feet in height was found, which, with care- longer built in—faces out to the view. The bathroom is
ful installation, comes right in at the datum’s 6’-8” level. downright grand.

44 MID-CENTURY MAKEOVER