006 Yardley House

Type: House 3500 sf
Location: Yardley, PA
Year: Completed 2006 

The existing foundation of a single story frame house provided a footprint for this new house in Yardley.  The massing and volume of the house was completely reconfigured to create a compact split level home. The new form of the house reflects the differentiation and separation of the communal areas from the private ones. The interior is comprised of larger social gathering areas at the lower level and more intimate bedrooms and study spaces upstairs. Each of these rooms is located on their own floor, and is connected by a spiraling central stair core. Natural light enters through the higher roof in between the living and sleeping rooms and illuminates the central circulation path. The house is efficiently laid out with a minimum of corridors and hallways. Each room connects to the outside via large picture windows and smaller operating casement windows.
On the outside, the house and garage are connected with open porches that frame the landscape of tall oak and dogwood trees. The separation of the volumes and the breakdown of the split roofs allows for the overall profile of the house to appear in harmony with the surrounds.
The house is clad with horizontal siding and a metal roof. The monochromatic palate and restrained material selections of the exterior are in direct contrast to the rich interior finishes.