Project Location: Nashville, TN
Construction Type: Residential
This project exemplifies the quintessential corner porch living, on a corner lot in an older established historic neighborhood in a new modern interpretation.
Given the building constraints found on corner lots with front setbacks normally pushing homes away from streets, the idea was proposed to “twist” the main body of the home 10 degrees to maximize the rear yard to provide privacy while keeping the corner wrapped porch aligned with the street. As a result of the subtleness of the “twist”, the living areas framed in the geometry become larger and the interior spaces of the home engage the outdoor areas, bringing the outdoor space into the home.
In addition to the porch aligning with the home, the front gable is clipped at a 10 degree angle to also align with the street. In doing so, this created a deep overhang on one side that required a simplistic eave detail reinforced with common steel plumbing piping concealed within the rafters. This large overhang also provides shading from the afternoon sun due to the orientation of the home facing southwest.
Grounded by a new masonry fireplace marking the pivot point for the home, the fire place becomes the interior focal point for the 2-story living room and provides the organizational spine providing the necessary separations of public and private from the gathering spaces within.
Through the use of large oversized windows and a horizontal siding detail that starts wide around the base of the home and transitions to a more traditional width, the visual impact of the overall scale of the home was reduced to better align with neighboring historic properties. The simple monochromatic color palette placed emphasis on the simplicity of the materials and the overall transitions of connection details. This simplicity of materials places the emphasis on the home’s overall larger site response and connection to the neighborhood.
