House in a Garden

This 1973 house designed by John Replinger seems to have roots in two Mies Van Der Robe designs (House with Three Courts and 50 by 50 house). It is single-story, flat roof house comprised of simple materials: wood and glass. Simultaneously introverted and extroverted; it is a square plan designed around a central atrium with glazing across the front and back - a wing behind the originally separate garage was added a few years later. Set adjacent to a wooded area in a quiet neighborhood, living in the house feels like moving thru a series of pavilions set in a garden (front, rear and atrium).

Its preservation and restoration were planned with three goals in mind: change as little as necessary to maintain design integrity, implement sustainable changes with minimal environmental impact and achieve results that feel natural. With this in mind, we limited our intervention to replacing worn materials and bringing kitchen and bathroom finishes and fixtures to current standards. All of this we carefully integrated with the original design.

In order to enhance the architect’s intent of pavilions in a garden, extensive landscape redesign was undertaken. The original narrowly slated wood fence running across the entire length of the front facade was deteriorated. Rather than simply replace it, we opted to draw on masonry garden walls present in the designs of Mies, Noyes and another Replinger house close by. Two L shaped offset walls with varying heights were constructed that give a sense of privacy and connection to the garden (a berm between the two is topped with shrubs and trees that will eventually screen the view from the street to the private spaces in the front of the house. Additionally, a large white pine has been replaced with an oak and elm that will create a canopy for the garden and be critical to a passive solar design - a mature elm in the rear already serves this function.

The other major exterior modification was to the long double car width concrete driveway that had cracked in several places. Original plans called for a single car-width portion that widened as it approached the garage. This design was finally realized in gravel, echoing the interior with a series of spaces set in the garden.

Finally, both exterior and interior colors and Room & Board furnishings were chosen to blend with, and enhance, the design of the structure while connecting them to the garden. Living in the house is an experience of serenity.