This project is phase one of a three phase remodel of a relatively standard sixties ranch house. Phase one is the design and reworking of the main floor primary living spaces. The client desired a more open plan, with the kitchen and living room having a better spatial connection. They also requested a scullery The plan of the house is dominated by a large brick fireplace mass that goes from the basement through the roof. The existing plan has two separate stairs, one going to the second floor, and one off the garage going to the basement of a tight and disjointed mudroom that acts more as a circulation vestibule. The original kitchen located in the Northwestern corner of the plan was narrow and cut off from the rest of the plan.
The project embraces the chimney mass and extends it as object placed in the plan. This object is then carved to make functionally specific adjustments. The family room fireplace and bookshelf were absorbed into this mass, a new drop zone cabinet was added to the entry space, and the dining room and mudroom were relocated in into this mass. The kitchen and scullery were relocated off the mudroom and adjacent and open to the living room. A new stair to the basement and buffet for the dining room we built into the space of the old kitchen. The entry vestibule into the family room and living room was opened to further express the object at the center of the plan. The existing stair to the second floor was reworked to also appear as a vertical object.
By embracing the constraint of the existing fireplace mass, the team was able to create distinct spaces within a continuous volume of space.
Photography Copyright Bob Greenspan Photography