Nolintha Residence in Raleigh, North Carolina by in situ studio

Article source: in situ studio

The Nolintha Residence is a renovation and small addition to an historic, 1920s four-square house in downtown Raleigh. Our clients, who are brother and sister, are successful restaurateurs. They wanted a house with separate bedroom spaces, shared living spaces, and that could accommodate large events. The Raleigh Historic District Commission (RHDC) required that the exterior front of the house remain largely unchanged and that the rear addition be simple enough to not distract from the historic structure. The interior, however, was completely reformed and is now washed with light, a stark contrast to the heavy historic façade.

The front of the house has been completely renovated, bringing the house back to it’s original 1920s four-square form, with glimpses of the new interior visible though refurbished historic windows, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

• Architects: in situ studio
• Project: Nolintha Residence
• Location: 314 East Cabarrus Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
• Photography: Keith Isaacs
• Designed For: Vansana and Vanvisa Nolintha
  
• Contractor: Southeastern Properties and Development Company
  
• Structural Engineer: Lysaght & Associates Structural Engineers
• Completed: February, 2017
  

The rear of the house is simple and modern, contrasting the historic front and side facades. An upstairs addition shelters a new south-facing deck, and a very poorly built previous upstairs addition was demolished and rebuilt, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

This house is our clients’ first home, and the program they presented was unusual – the renovation of a decaying, historic four-square to accommodate food-related events and provide three separate living suites. RHDC controlled the refurbishment of the existing front and side façades. The rear of the house, where a small addition was made to the upper floor and a poorly-built, non-historic addition was remade, is very simple, contrasting the historic portions of the house. Inside, the only elements remaining downstairs are the central and west wall fireplace masses, which would have been too destructive to the integrity of the structure to dismantle. The west wall fireplace is an artifact exposed between dining and living spaces, and the few storage and support elements downstairs wrap around and hide the central fireplace mass. A new stair slides up the east wall, passing in front of old windows to a hall between three bedroom suites – one guest and one for each sibling. These spaces are completely separate from one another, filled with light, and oriented towards beautiful views of the surrounding context and downtown Raleigh.

The rear deck: The main living spaces on the first floor spill out to the rear yard via a new rear deck that is sheltered by the addition above, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

Living space from the dining space: An existing fireplace on the west wall was retained as an artifact to mark the boundary between dining and living. The living space extends out to the new rear deck, which is sheltered by an upstairs addition, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

The existing house was in shambles. The brick mortar had turned to powder in many locations and most exterior trim was rotten. Water, freely admitted into the brick veneer cavity through open mortar joints, was rotting the walls. The foundation and full basement were miraculously intact and dry, but the edge band and adjacent floor joists had been destroyed by water and insects. The house had been rented as three separate tenant spaces for years, with shared bathrooms and an overworked kitchen. The subdivision of space to make this possible was haphazard to say the least, and several suspect changes to load bearing conditions had caused roof, ceiling, and floor spans to rely on one another in eccentric ways. Plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems needed to be replaced. The renovation of the house involved dismantling much of the interior framing, installing new structural members from the roof down to existing foundations and in areas of overspanning, and repair of the brick veneer and rotten exterior trim. New systems were located in the basement, which was cleaned out and reserved for storage. The finished house, once on the verge of being unrecoverable, now has another fifty years of service ahead.

Upon entry: The entry space is open to the new stair and focuses on an art wall. The kitchen is around this wall to the left, and dining and living spaces are to the right, leading out to the rear deck and yard, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

Informal eating space: Under the stair, to the left of the art wall, is an informal eating space used for daily meals. The kitchen is beyond, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

Informal eating space looking at stair, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

New stair: A new stair passes in front of the old windows, ascending into a light-filled hall towards the private spaces upstairs, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

kitchen, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

Bedroom: Upstairs, three bedroom suites are separated by a central hall to create privacy, with each bedroom looking out towards a unique view of downtown Raleigh, Image Courtesy © Keith Isaacs

Before, Image Courtesy © in situ studio

Before, Image Courtesy © in situ studio

Existing first floor, Image Courtesy © in situ studio

Renovated first floor, Image Courtesy © in situ studio

The first floor is completely open, with continuous space from the existing front porch to the new rear deck. A new stair slides in front of old windows on the east wall, leading to the upstairs hall that accesses three new bedroom suites, Image Courtesy © in situ studio

Tags: North Carolina, USA

Categories: Apartments, House, Residential

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