THOMAS BARRIE ARCHITECT

Barrie Guest House

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)

360 square feet

Interiors/Landscape Design: Lisa Grele Barrie

Contractor: Armature Design Build, Raleigh

Landscape Contractor: Landscape Solutions, Raleigh

Art: Ian Barrie NYC | Furniture: Colwell Studios NYC, Simon Barrie

The Barrie Guest House is an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) located in an historic neighborhood close to downtown Raleigh. It comprises a 300 sq. ft living space and a 60 sq. ft. garden storage area. The living area includes a kitchen, full bath, living room and sleeping loft. A porch overlooks the backyard garden. The all-electric house is heated and cooled by a small heat pump; hot water is supplied by an on-demand unit. The house and openings are oriented to minimize solar heat and maximize passive cooling. Exterior materials include an exposed concrete block foundation, low-maintenance cementitious panels, and a galvalume standing-seam roof. Interior finishes are an exposed slab-on-grade, painted plywood and drywall, clear-finished casework and shelves, tile, and aluminum baseboard and stair treads. Landscaping that includes mature trees, shrubs and native plants brings the outdoors in, and adds beauty and ecosystem services.

The scale and siting of the house dignify the small unit and integrate it with the main house and gardens. It is square footage poor and spatially rich with carefully-sized spaces interlocked through geometry and proportion. The tri-level of living, storage, and loft create a sleeping area that is both sequestered and expansive. Color and surface expand space and passage. It glows with early morning light, and subdued northern light during the day brings out the colors of the walls and artwork. A stone path provides an entry sequence through gardens; a patio creates a shared space between houses.