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ArchDC Winter 2018.qxp_Winter 2018 11/27/18 9:39 AM Page 61

Vapor House, with the guest house at right.

Jameson grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and
fondly remembered a “little black pond” there that fascinated him.
“The character of the water was always changing,” he said. “It
was sometimes dark and murky, sometimes bright and reflective. I
realized that those conflicting aesthetics were equally beautiful to me.”
He set out to capture the ever-changing character of water in
the design of the new house. In particular, he was inspired by the
mirage-like quality of vapor—perhaps water’s most mysterious state.
This concept is most directly expressed in the custom embossed-
metal panels that clad much of the house. Fabricated by A. Zahner
Company, known for its work on various projects by Frank Gehry,
the panels were produced by using two molds and rotating them to
yield a variety of patterns. Depending on lighting conditions, the
panels can appear black, blue, silver, or even white, thus evoking
the mercurial moods of the pond from Jameson’s childhood.
As design progressed, Jameson increasingly realized that
designing his own house from scratch afforded him opportunities
to experiment not only with finishes, but also window details and
mechanical systems that might give his regular clients pause. He
went to great effort to ensure that exterior doors and operable
windows did not interrupt the perfectly planar quality of fixed glass
panels. To achieve this, he worked with a Canadian manufacturer
to develop appropriate opening mechanisms—sliding glass doors,
Close-up of the embossed metal panels that clad
for instance, pop out to open, much like the side doors on a minivan.
much of the house.
The architect also incorporated cutting-edge, environment-friendly
geothermal HVAC systems. He cited a recent monthly energy bill
of $54—an exceptionally low figure for such a large house.
In plan, the house wraps around a swimming pool whose
taut surface aligns with that of the surrounding terrace. It is the
most direct reference to that pond back on the Eastern Shore. Said
Jameson, “The house is a confluence of materiality and ideas,
invoking the past of the Goodman house and of my own life.”

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