Transparency is realized on multiple levels at the Landes residence, including the physical transparency of large glass openings, fiberglass grated decks that allow light filtration to a daylight basement, interior slatted fence-like wood surfaces, and numerous clerestory windows. Designed by Ward+Blake Architects in Jackson, Wyoming. Photo Credit: Roger Wade

A neglected commercial building was transformed into a multi-level living space with the street level purposed for entertaining. "Our Special Place" is a creative solution to the need for privacy and desire for beauty in an urban domicile. This design maintains a visual connection to the outdoor environment and urban activity. The design provides a meaningful memory for the residents while providing a vision of nature and beauty for both owners and the public. In harmony with urban life, ever-changing daylight and artificial light bring a dynamic range of character to the design at all times of the day. A twenty-five foot curtain wall divided pedestrian and vehicular traffic physically and visually from the large dining room of a new street level urban home. It was important not to close the residence off from city living, or to loose the daylight filtering through the curtain wall. The primary goal was to provide privacy from the public while still retaining a view of the sky, weather and activity on the street. It was also important to mantain the legibility of the design throughout the day and night. With a close up view from the inside, one can see through tiny untreated areas to see street activity. A close up view looking in from the outside is not possible due to buttresses from the street level. A clean frameless installation with low maintenance was also required.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

Transparency is realized on multiple levels at the Landes residence, including the physical transparency of large glass openings, fiberglass grated decks that allow light filtration to a daylight basement, interior slatted fence-like wood surfaces, and numerous clerestory windows. Designed by Ward+Blake Architects in Jackson, Wyoming. Photo Credit: Roger Wade

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

This remodel negotiates the owner’s desire for a modern home with the municipality’s desire to maintain the home’s ‘historic’ character.  To satisfy these potentially conflicting interests, our strategy restores the house’s shell while completely gutting the interior to achieve greater connections to the landscape beyond and between previously disconnected levels on the interior. At the exterior, new doors and windows with black frames hint at the elegant and restrained aesthetic that guides the design throughout. Similarly, a new cantilevered deck at the rear and new French doors at the front create connections to outside that echo the new spatial openness of the reorganized interior. The original home, although two stories, functioned like a single story home. To remedy this, the primary formal move was to remove the center of the home and insert a new, open stair that visually and physically connects the two levels. To take advantage of this, the lower level was enlarged and completely refinished to provide two new bedrooms, a music room, a playroom, and a bathroom. Similarly, the upper level was completed updated with a new master suite, an updated bathroom, new finishes in the main living spaces, and a new Henrybuilt Kitchen.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

After deciding to age-in-place and encountering physical limitations, the clients wanted to create single level living in their Arlington Cape Cod home, where they have lived for 27 years. They wanted an open, light-filled space for themselves and for entertaining, space to put often-used items that had been relegated to the basement and leave the 2nd floor as-is for guests, all while maintaining the integrity of the exterior style and interior character of their 1946 home and neighborhood.

Transparency is realized on multiple levels at the Landes residence, including the physical transparency of large glass openings, fiberglass grated decks that allow light filtration to a daylight basement, interior slatted fence-like wood surfaces, and numerous clerestory windows. Designed by Ward+Blake Architects in Jackson, Wyoming. Photo Credit: Roger Wade

This brick and limestone, 6,000-square-foot residence exemplifies understated elegance. Located in the award-wining Blaine School District and within close proximity to the Southport Corridor, this is city living at its finest! The foyer, with herringbone wood floors, leads to a dramatic, hand-milled oval staircase; an architectural element that allows sunlight to cascade down from skylights and to filter throughout the house. The floor plan has stately-proportioned rooms and includes formal Living and Dining Rooms; an expansive, eat-in, gourmet Kitchen/Great Room; four bedrooms on the second level with three additional bedrooms and a Family Room on the lower level; a Penthouse Playroom leading to a roof-top deck and green roof; and an attached, heated 3-car garage. Additional features include hardwood flooring throughout the main level and upper two floors; sophisticated architectural detailing throughout the house including coffered ceiling details, barrel and groin vaulted ceilings; painted, glazed and wood paneling; laundry rooms on the bedroom level and on the lower level; five fireplaces, including one outdoors; and HD Video, Audio and Surround Sound pre-wire distribution through the house and grounds. The home also features extensively landscaped exterior spaces, designed by Prassas Landscape Studio. This home went under contract within 90 days during the Great Recession. Featured in Chicago Magazine: http://goo.gl/Gl8lRm Jim Yochum

Transparency is realized on multiple levels at the Landes residence, including the physical transparency of large glass openings, fiberglass grated decks that allow light filtration to a daylight basement, interior slatted fence-like wood surfaces, and numerous clerestory windows. Designed by Ward+Blake Architects in Jackson, Wyoming. Photo Credit: Roger Wade

Example of a large country white two-story wood gable roof design in New York