Despite sniper attacks and terrorist alerts, the Washington, D.C., area’s diverse economic base, bolstered by federal spending, continues to float the local custom home market at near-boom levels. Real estate values that seem only to climb with every dip in the stock market have underlined the home’s blue-chip place in family portfolios. “Many people feel that putting money into building or renovating a house is the only sure bet for a good investment,” says McLean,Va., architect Randall Mars.
The city’s historical roots make Federal and Georgian styles the default settings for area custom homes. The owner of this house, an interior designer and former student of Mars, wanted something more progressive that would still respect her husband’s more conservative taste. “While I’m always careful of context, there are several other contemporary houses nearby,” Mars notes. That, and the wooded buffer of a 2.5-acre site, left the architect free to develop a hybrid home that combines traditional forms with Modernist detailing in stucco and glass.
“We knew right away that we wanted pavilions to break up the massing,” says Mars. Steeply pitched roofs crisply define four separate pavilions, which are connected by a semicircle of terraces and decks along the river elevation. Interior bridges and hallways follow the same subtle arc. Inside, the central pavilion’s public rooms extend upward as much as outward, creating dramatic yet comfortable spaces.A two-story bow window and mitered glass corners open the house to views of the river. Large skylights supported by slender steel bars pour light into the curved links between pavilions.
Project Credits: Builder: Pollard Construction, Alexandria, Va.; Architect: Randall Mars Architects, McLean, Va.; Landscape architect: Lila Fendrick, Bethesda, Md.; Interior designer: Ann Weir, In Design, McLean; Living space: 8,000 square feet; Site size: 2.5 acres; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Hoachlander Davis Photography.
Resources: Bathroom plumbing fittings: Hansgrohe, Circle 491, Kroin, Circle 492, Waterworks, Circle 493; Bathroom plumbing fixtures: American Standard, Circle 494, Duravit, Circle 495; Bathroom cabinets: Wooden Design, Circle 496; Countertops: Get Real Surfaces, Circle 497; Flooring: Ademas, Circle 498; Garage doors: Designer Doors, Circle 499; Hardware: FSB, Circle 500: Kitchen cabinets: Siematic, Circle 501; Kitchen plumbing fittings/fixtures: Franke, Circle 502; Lighting fixtures: Edison Price, Circle 503, Louis Poulsen, Circle 504, Steng, Circle 505; Oven: Viking, Circle 506; Paints: Benjamin Moore, Circle 507; Refrigerator: Sub-Zero, Circle 508; Skylights: Pilkington Planar, Circle 509; Windows: Dover Windows & Doors, Circle 510, Pella, Circle 511.
