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U p i n F r o n t
Up in Front

The TreeHouse Shed at left, with a
corner of the main house at right.
Small Shed Enjoys Unusual Prominence

on a Bethesda Property

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

Sheds are typically found in rear yards for the obvious reason Gardner worked with Jordan Honeyman Landscape
that they tend to serve utilitarian purposes—and look like it. The Architecture to manage storm water runoff, eliminate invasive
“TreeHouse Shed” designed by Gardner Architects LLC for a plant species, and create or enhance animal habitats. “The
suburban property in Bethesda is exceptional both for its location— owner is a rabid wildlife enthusiast,” said Gardner. “She wanted
near the main house’s entrance—and its elegant materials and to attract pollinators and birds. We created a pollinator garden
composition. A visitor approaching for the first time could easily while preserving mature trees that contribute to the forested
mistake it for a teahouse or similar ceremonial structure. character of the community.”
The improbable position of the shed derives from the Since the house lacks a garage or walk-out basement, the
awkward topography of the site, combined with strict zoning owner also wanted a freestanding structure for storing garden
regulations that severely limited options for placement of hoses, tools, a wheelbarrow, and bicycles. Given the slope of
auxiliary structures. the site and the zoning constraints, Gardner landed on the
“The shed is actually part of a broader story that began in idea of siting the shed toward the front of the property (which,
2009, when the homeowner came to us about her main house, curiously, is defined by zoning as the rear yard), then designing
which was built in 1960,” said Amy E. Gardner, FAIA, LEED AP. it to complement the architecture of the renovated main house.
“We didn’t want to tear it down, and even if we could have, Positioned at an angle to the house’s front façade, and with a
zoning guidelines in existence now would have been prohibitive. small stone-paved terrace in between, the new shed now helps
So, instead we did a gut renovation and addition, and developed to define a sort of entrance court.
a master plan for preserving the landscape as much as possible.”
64 UP IN FRONT