Page 66 - ArchDC_Fall 2020

Street façade of the Franzen House, with the entry path at left. Washingtonian Residential Design Award

Franzen House
Bethesda, MD

Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect
Structural Engineers: United Structural Engineers
General Contractor: Commonwealth Building and Design

A quick glance at a photo of this project by Robert M. Gurney,
FAIA, could easily leave the viewer with a misimpression.
What may appear to be a simple, boxy, two-story house with a
severely plain exterior is actually a complex, multi-layered, four-
story house with richly textured façades.
For in-person visitors, a full understanding of the
house unfolds slowly but dramatically, thanks to a carefully
choreographed sequence of movements. The path to the front
door begins with a walkway—a row of pavers—that does not
align with the front door, or even with any part of the front
façade, for that matter. The pavers lead to a bridge that is
curiously built just inches above ground level. As the bridge
continues, the ground drops away underneath. Once the visitors
reach the end of the bridge in line with the house’s front façade,
they understand why the path was positioned off to the side: To
create an overlook with views of the steeply sloping yard, along
with the two additional stories of the house below the entry level.
At this point, the visitors may also be noticing for the first
time the texture of the house’s façades. The narrow end walls
are dark-painted concrete, while the perpendicular walls are
clad in charred wood siding—a traditional Japanese technique
known as shou sugi ban, which actually serves to waterproof and

All photos © Anice Hoachlander/Hoachlander Davis Photography
64 METROPOLITAN HOMES