Collection by Heather Corcoran
Houses That Make the Case Modern and Traditional Architecture Can Coexist
Respecting architectural history doesn't have to mean staying stagnant. When carefully done, modern marvels like these are perfectly at home with their neighborhood's more senior citizens. Here's how.
One family’s effort to “smuggle a modern house into a historic district” in Washington, DC, results in a brightly transformed space made for family life.
The residence is set back a few feet from the site’s edge, allowing more light to flood into neighbors’ windows and leaving space for trees. “The idea was to make a strong gesture to incorporate ideas
of openness,” Lynch explains. “It’s not just a box if you look at it closely. It’s a series of planes that fit together."
George Nelson's book Tomorrow's House, classic Neutra homes, and the contemporary architecture from the sunny state of California's all provided inspiration for Peter Bracher's personal Genesis Project.
On sunny days fewer spots are nicer than the Mangaris deck between the Deans’ kitchen and master bedroom. Long willow switches hide the water meter behind Karie, who oversees her sons from a Bertoia Diamond Lounge. This is just a fraction of the boys’ formidable Lego collection.