This alteration to a townhouse in the dense neighborhood of Pittsburgh, known as the Southside, was conceived of as a series of functional reparations that defined the scope for an architectural intervention. While it was clear that the house was in desperate need of rehabilitation, the challenge hinged on how it would assume the rather more ambitious role of redefining its spatial composition to house both live and work.

A two-story glass bridge connects the original nineteenth century house with its 1940’s addition—a transparency that formally aligns the previously disconnected kitchen, dining, and living spaces into a suite of rooms.

This new construction 2,500 SF single-story residence, accompanied by an 800 SF detached garage, sits atop a wide clearing at the edge of the woods just north of Pittsburgh. Conceived as a reinterpretation of utilitarian rural buildings, the home uses simple, durable materials to evoke a sense of permanence.