Page 50 - Spring_2019

ArchDC Spring 2019.qxp_Spring 2019 2/20/19 5:17 PM Page 48

Found
Found House before renovation. Photo by Richard Williams Architects Detail of the screen wall/
boulder connections.

Opportunities
Opportunities

Architects Bring

Character to a

Lackluster

Vacation House

by G. Martin Moeller, Jr., Assoc. AIA

Project: Terrapin Neck Renovation,
Shepherdstown, WV
Architects: Richard Williams Architects, PLLC
Structural Engineers: A.F. McCormick Structural Engineers
Contractor: Michael F. Taylor Custom Structures
View toward main entry.
Perched atop a bluff overlooking a serene, tree-lined
stretch of the Potomac River near Shepherdstown, West
Virginia, there stood a 1980s house that simply did not do
justice to the spectacular site. With its jumble of shed (half-
gable) roofs, generic gray-painted siding, and uninviting
front porch, the house failed to create a clear architectural
impression. While large windows facing north and west
framed beautiful views of the river, the south and east
façades were largely blank, ignoring the potential for
complementary vistas of the surrounding woods.
The property’s owners, a couple who co-founded a
development firm based in Washington, believed that a
judicious renovation could correct the house’s short-
comings, which also included a haphazard floor plan
and the need for an additional guest bedroom. They
were disheartened when the first few architects they
approached recommended demolishing the structure and
starting over. They eventually found more sympathetic
ears in the DC-based firm of Richard Williams Architects.

48 FOUND OPPORTUNITIES View of the house from the woods. P