the green residence...

location: Durham, NC
est. completion date: Fall 2009
project team:
Frank Harmon
Ashley Ozburn

problem statement…

The Greens have approached us with a unique project. They would like a modern addition to a historic North Carolina farmhouse. The house sits on a lovely site and looks out onto a small pond, complete with geese and fish. The existing house is typical of its time: one 16x16 room on either side of a 8’ wide hallway with the same layout repeated on the second floor. The farmhouse also has a large screened in porch that is the heart of every activity the family does. Cool breezes come up off the pond and fill the space creating a comfortable atmosphere, even in the heat of the summer. The Greens would like to make the farmhouse their permanent residence, therefore requesting some renovation as well as a large addition that would give them the open living space they desire.

our design purpose…

Our scheme strives to create a harmonious relationship between historic and contemporary architecture. The new addition must not overwhelm the simplicity of the existing farmhouse, but must instead hold it up as something to appreciate and study, recognizing the importance of the past while using contemporary language to create a new space.

The modular layout of the existing house will be turned in to the private spaces for the new project. The 16x16 spaces will now be three bedrooms and a Master Sitting Room. The southern side of the existing house will be extended to create a Master Bath, the front of which will mimic the aesthetic of the existing house, while the back will relate to the modern addition behind. The addition will flow from the back of the existing house and will contain a spacious kitchen looking over an open family room. The dining and living rooms both open into a spacious screen porch running along the entire length of the new house, once again capturing the he beautiful sunrise and the breezes coming off the pond.

Our scheme features one long continuous roof that claims the slope of the existing roof and a large hearth that echoes the proportion of the farmhouse. Natural light and fresh air will flood the house throughout the year and be a wonderful compliment to the darker and more private rooms of the old farmhouse. Every room will have a view out to the pond and over the lovely shaded site. The house will specifically fit the Greens, giving them the open space they need, while simultaneously celebrating not only their farmhouse, but the rural history of our state that is slowly disappearing in our modern culture.