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ArchDC Summer 2017.qxp_Summer 2017 5/24/17 10:52 AM Page 52

Renovated staircase, with row of small windows
opening into the second floor office.

The House of the
The House of the

Four Bell(e)s
Four Bell(e)s

Rejoins Society
Rejoins Society All photos © Jesse Gerard/Hoachlander
Davis Photography, except as noted

Eclectic Blend of Old and New

Rejuvenates a Logan Circle Dowager

by Steven K. Dickens, AIA, LEED AP

The role of the architect can vary considerably from project to efforts of specialty consultants such as interior decorators,
project. For most custom residential projects that win awards and kitchen designers, and lighting designers.
are published in venues like ARCHITECTUREDC, the architect is For the renovation of this spacious circa-1890 Logan Circle
usually the primary design actor, sometimes creating what the row house, architect Kendall Dorman, principal of Wiebenson &
Germans called a Gesamtkunstwerk—a complete, unified work of Dorman Architects PC, served as a trusted advisor during a multi-
art, architecture, interior design, and landscape. Clients have their year, ongoing process. In 2009, a DC couple, having completed a
magazine clippings and Pinterest pages, and of course are consulted 13-year renovation of a Tenleytown house, decided to return to
every step of the way, but the architect is the lead creator and more urban living. They first engaged architect Dorman to help
selector. At the other end of the spectrum of services, sometimes “test-fit” houses, then, following the purchase, to guide them
the architect acts as a sort of creative director, coordinating the through the design and construction process. Decisions often

52 HOUSE OF FOUR BELLS