Historic Townhouse Renovation

Design Concepts

​The project began with the need to add a three stop elevator to make the house a "forever  house".  Along with that, a wish to re-organize the first floor, enlarge the kitchen, create a family room accommodating a ​theater size TV, create a space for a new powder room, accommodate a wine storage area and relocate the dining room with connection to the kitchen, open up the main stair case.   This requires careful planning in eleven hundred square feet.


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The home is a double townhouse built in the 1700's, just south of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ​

The Kitchen

The kitchen is being expanded by removing a sixteen foot long brick bearing wall.  A commercial stove and adjacent cabinetry is tucked into a new brick arch.​  A clerestory roof for the addition allows for tall windows with a round oriel window to bring the light deep into the room while viewing the courtyard from a large island.

Rear Facade

The rear courtyard faces south and west.  We want to improve it with storage and a covered  sitting area.   The solar study allows us to accurately model the shading patterns of the trellis roof.