Pittsburgh Residence

Overlooking Carnegie-Mellon University on a large formally landscaped site in Pittsburgh, this house was developed from the evocation of the ruins of a previous residence.

The local context is referenced through the use of indigenous materials and forms in an effort to create a sense of permanence. The house was designed to rise from the existing building fragments, as an assemblage of differing parts and materials: Norman brick, slate, metal roofs, concrete block and mahogany windows layered with rough stone walls and cut limestone accents culled from the old structure. 
Throughout the interior of the house, salvaged elements provide a counterpoint to the minimal detailing and fine materials. The house is organized traditionally, with the formal rooms of the house on the ground level and the bedrooms above.  A hall bisects the plan on the main floors. The entry hall opens up to the second floor with a large skylight to illuminate the center of the house. The main rooms of the house are light and spacious and open directly on to the large lawn to the south. A glass and steel solarium provides a bright conclusion to the entry sequence. 
On the second floor, interior windows allow light to be borrowed by internal spaces. Skylights and clerestory windows visually punctuate movement and aid internal illumination. There are two bedroom suites and a sitting room on the third floor. They are found within a single, high, wood-trussed volume that, on the exterior, appears as the main “nave” form of the composition. In the basement, a portion of the ruin is rejuvenated with a spa and above, the kitchen with a terrace.