Sited on a corner property on 4 acres in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Merion Residence is a new home, built among varied early 20th century estates found along a tree-lined street. The home has a formal entry responding to the corner, with the plan arranged in a “U” shape relating to an axis from front to back. Formally, the layout of spaces is based on the idea of arrival, entry, axial relationships through the house, and the separation of public and private spaces. Practically, the arrangement and location of rooms is based on desired relationships between spaces, ease of circulation, connection to the outdoors and the desire for natural light. A Doric order of the entry portico and limestone facade establishes the proportional rules used throughout the exterior and interior, adapted as necessary yet respecting the principles of the past. Interior molding profiles were influenced and reinterpreted from previous examples and re-proportioned for each room.

Exterior materials are limestone, slate, mica schist building stone and copper, selected to support the massing, specified to ensure the home ages gracefully and in time may become historically indistinguishable from the other homes in the neighborhood. The house extends to the landscape through terraces, walls and walks, all reasoned and structured to create a unified experience of house and garden.

18,000 sf 8 bed/9.5 baths.