Page 68 - Fall 2019

Washingtonian Residential Design Award

Georgetown Row House
Washington, DC
Robert M. Gurney, FAIA,
Architect

Interior Designers: Baron Gurney Interiors
Landscape Architects: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects
Structural Engineers: Robert Silman Associates Rear of the house before renovation.
Contractor: Steven McCaughan, Commonwealth Building and Design
Photo courtesy of Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect
The idea that the front and the back of an urban row house are
fundamentally different, and can be designed in different ways, is
far from new. During the Victorian era, the front façades of such
houses were often very elaborate, with intricate door and window
surrounds and dramatic cornices, while the corresponding rear
façades were typically quite plain. Clients and architects alike
preferred to spend more of their construction budget on the façade
that was visible to the public. At the same time, the houses’ rear
yards tended to be mundane, often used more for service and
utility than for recreation.
When Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, was commissioned to renovate
a trio of 19th-century Georgetown row houses—an adjacent pair of
houses that had been combined previously plus a third, separate
house that the current owner bought during the early design
phase—he fundamentally reversed the Victorian paradigm. While
the historic street façades were preserved, the addition at the rear
of the combined structure is a boldly modern composition with
broad expanses of glass overlooking the back yard, which features
a swimming pool beside a taut carpet of grass, perfect for either
entertaining or quiet relaxation. The non-adjacent row house has
been converted into a guest house, while the narrow swath between
it and the main structure is now a ramp leading to a new
underground garage.
The design plays up the contrast between old and new. The
distinct form of the original structures, for instance, remains
Rear of the property following renovation, with the side wall
intelligible both inside and out. While some interior walls have
of one of the original houses visible in the slot at center,
been removed, and numerous modern elements inserted within the and the new guest house at left.
perimeter of the existing buildings, the character of the existing
structures is still evident, in large part because most of the historic
double-hung windows were retained. By contrast, the addition,
with its large windows and glass pocket doors that disappear
when opened, feels completely fresh. The old and new portions
of the project are separated by a lushly planted garden, with only
a narrow, glassy corridor connecting them.
Transparent glass elements, in fact, form something of a leitmotif
throughout the project. Highlights of the interior include a chapel-
like, glass-enclosed wine storage room situated between the for-
mal living and dining rooms, an open-tread staircase with glass
balustrades, and a glass floor in a portion of the top-floor home
office above a secondary staircase. The balcony off the master
bedroom is lined with glass railings so as not to interrupt views
of the generous rear yard, which is now no longer an afterthought,
but a virtual private park.

66 WASHINGTON AT HOME Dining room, with glass-enclosed wine storage room at right.