Copper House
Belmont, MA USA
Belmont, MA USA
CharlesRose Architects rarely work on renovations. In this case, the original housewas a Colonial box with vinyl siding; it was poorly sited, and a garage cut itoff from a spacious yard. Yet it had charm: cozy rooms, a downstairs bedroomsuite, and ample usable space. The project called for—in essence—adding a houseto the existing house, and the complexity and challenge proved too hard toresist.
Ourdesign created a slot for the addition by demolishing the garage and usingsurplus driveway space. This move anchored the new house in the landscape whileensuring that it wouldn’t eat up valuable green space, despite its large scale.The most challenging aspect was one of fit: by style and scale. Stylistically,we were marrying a modern glass and copper house to a Colonial. Moreover,integration was daunting: the high-ceilings and open volumes of the plannedaddition did not align with the Colonial’s tighter and more compressed spaces.
Toconfront the central challenge—of stitching together old and new—we usedstrategies that both hid and heightened transitions. Outside, we put a newwrapper on the Colonial: a cedar box. We kept practically everything as it was:window frames became sculptural indentations; old panes were replaced with singlesheets of glass. Inside, we put a three-story atrium, topped by six largeskylights—where old and new meet. We made this the formal entryway: The frontdoor leads visitors into a small vestibule that opens into the atrium. Asteel-and-glass stair climbs from the stone atrium floor to upper level of theaddition. A second sculptural stair—a steel-and-glass bridge—crosses the atriumand links the second floors in the addition and the Colonial, heightening thecontrast. A curtain wall of glass runs the length of the kitchen and livingspaces, bringing the outdoors inside. The plan is open; the ground-floor stair,granite dining room server and bluestone fireplace are designed to delineateroom areas.
Ourdesign created a slot for the addition by demolishing the garage and usingsurplus driveway space. This move anchored the new house in the landscape whileensuring that it wouldn’t eat up valuable green space, despite its large scale.The most challenging aspect was one of fit: by style and scale. Stylistically,we were marrying a modern glass and copper house to a Colonial. Moreover,integration was daunting: the high-ceilings and open volumes of the plannedaddition did not align with the Colonial’s tighter and more compressed spaces.
Toconfront the central challenge—of stitching together old and new—we usedstrategies that both hid and heightened transitions. Outside, we put a newwrapper on the Colonial: a cedar box. We kept practically everything as it was:window frames became sculptural indentations; old panes were replaced with singlesheets of glass. Inside, we put a three-story atrium, topped by six largeskylights—where old and new meet. We made this the formal entryway: The frontdoor leads visitors into a small vestibule that opens into the atrium. Asteel-and-glass stair climbs from the stone atrium floor to upper level of theaddition. A second sculptural stair—a steel-and-glass bridge—crosses the atriumand links the second floors in the addition and the Colonial, heightening thecontrast. A curtain wall of glass runs the length of the kitchen and livingspaces, bringing the outdoors inside. The plan is open; the ground-floor stair,granite dining room server and bluestone fireplace are designed to delineateroom areas.
