This Old Philadelphia House
Houses are frequently anthropomorphized in a manner that imbues them with life, adopting them as a member of a family. For an early twentieth century corner row house in Center City Philadelphia, the notion of a house possessing “good bones” was all the more appropriate given the owner’s professional calling analyzing X-ray films in the field of radiology.
The three-story home was designed for one occupant, the entertainment of close friends, and the occasional house guest. This unusual condition enabled the project to re-evaluate normative rules of living. The design did not need to concern itself with acoustic separation between floors. Adjacent programming that might normally require walls to create privacy was no longer necessary. Full floors could be given over to one or two activities, enabling air and light to flow freely through the building.
Design 2018
Philadelphia, PA
While the corner location afforded three façade exposures, the design needed to create a more light-filled and habitable living space on the street level where there was once a commercial storefront. The design introduces a generous second-floor opening above the kitchen, balancing the light from the old, high storefront windows to the south and windows previously trapped within a bedroom on the second floor. An open-riser, solid wood stair outlines the perimeter of this opening, drawing the eye and visitor into the upper floors of the building.
Ceiling joists, remarkably intact in two-hundred-year-old white pine, are sand blasted and left exposed to add color and texture to the space, contrasting sharply with the pristine white walls and ceilings that cover more complex floor transitions and new building infrastructure. Simple oak millwork is used to gather and organize transitions between spaces, always performing multiple tasks: wall and shelf, bench and cubby, guard rail and wet bar.
The second floor is programmed as a generous study on the south side of the floor and a sitting room on the north side of the floor. A series of free-standing walls and a double sided book shelf informally divides the floor - achieving an open, loft-like feel.
The building relies on thin ribbons of white walls to delicately insulate exterior walls, wrap the staircase as it rises through the building, and efficiently store the contents of life. Exposed wood joists provide a robust counterpoint to the clarity of the white walls.
The openness of the plan affords clear sight lines through the house from the second-floor back patio to the study at the front of the house.
High above the living spaces are the bedrooms. The Master Suite, positioned toward the south side of the house to enjoy higher ceilings and a more generous floor plate, receives light from a variety of directions thanks to the irregular shape of the house. A master bathroom hugs a step back in the facade creating an ample shower and comfortable soaking tub. Hand glazed white ceramic tile gives way to brilliant red glazed tile around existing window openings to add a sculptural depth to the space.
Making things matters. A physical model of the building facilitated a more intimate understanding of the complexities of the existing building mass. Further studies and options to configure a new staircase around the double height space in the center of the house aided the resolution of the concept of a ribbon proceeding through the building.
Photography and renderings by Studio Modh Architecture
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