Houser Walker Architecture - BiG House Extension and Renovation in Atlanta, Georgia

Sunday, 13 December 2009 07:15

The project requirement called for a 2,000 sf addition as well as an interior renovation to an existing house dating from the 1920s, including a new kitchen, master bedroom suite, enclosed parking, storage, and exterior patio space.
BigHouse_01
The architectural design for this residence by Houser Walker Architecture, marries a new, ‘lofty’ master suite and terraces to the rear of an existing 1920s brick bungalow. Renovations include a new kitchen, family room, and stair to existing attic rooms.

BiG_Model_Overall Formally, the addition is comprised of interlocked volumes shifting and slipping away from the existing structure, forming a new courtyard bridging the old and new faces of the house. Each volume is composed of a different constructional and material tectonic. Slippages between volumes create exterior spaces that offer either intimacy or the ability to entertain multitudes.
BigHouse_02 BigHouse_03 BigHouse_06 A glazed hallway, revealing the life of the home within and providing light deep into the new addition, weaves together both sections of the house. Complementary textures - rough stone and smooth stucco; horizontal brick and vertical cypress boards, transparent and opaque glazing, etc. – provides a variety of kinesthetic architectural experiences without resorting to mimicry of the original structure.
BigHouse_05 The title ‘BiG House’ not only refers to the owner’s initials, but also alludes to one of the primary goals for the house - making a case for densifying and rebuilding existing neighbourhoods without needing to resort to bombastic “McMansions” or other bloated domestic strategies.
BigHouse_07

Project credits

Houser Walker Architecture

Project Designer and Architect: Gregory Walker

Project team: Melissa Cooper, Scott Ball, Seth Hendler, .

Structural Engineering: Palmer Engineering-
Baku Patel, Principal Engineer