THOMAS BARRIE ARCHITECT

Historic Redo

Raleigh, NC

Completed: 2005

Square footage: 2,600

Contractor: The Splinter Group, Raleigh, NC

Photographer: Jerry Blow

This house is located just outside the Oakwood Historic District in Raleigh, NC, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Houses. The original house, known as the Snuggs-Bynum House, was built in 1906 and most likely was an "L" composed of the present-day entry hall, living room and dining room. Over the years a series of additions and alterations to the original house compromised its historic integrity and created numerous negative conditions. The renovations included a complete gutting and re-building of the rear of the house on both floors. The result was a contemporary kitchen, screened porch and deck that were designed to be integrated with the surrounding gardens. Three new baths, a laundry room, a new upstairs bedroom, and renovations throughout the house, as well as new energy-efficient mechanical and plumbing systems, were also part of the project.

The design establishes a "middle language" that neither contrasts nor recreates the style and detailing of the original house, but instead responds to its form, openings and spatial order and translates them into a contemporary language. New windows, siding and fascia subtly realign the exterior elevations. Inside, spaces were reconfigured and adjusted to establish visual axes and articulate spatial sequences. The openings and orientation of the kitchen, porch and deck were designed to integrate the interior spaces with the surrounding gardens. The kitchen bay window, aligned with true east, connects the kitchen with the seasonal patterns of the rising sun. The screened porch panels can be removed and stacked over an exterior closet to deepen the reciprocity of inside and outside.