Farmhouse Addition and Renovation
Elverson, Pennsylvania
A two-story family room and master suite addition honors the architecture of an 18th century stone farmhouse through scale and massing, yet is decidedly contemporary in its planning and detailing. In contrast to the compartmentalized layout of the farmhouse, spaces in the addition are bright and expansive, with a strong physical and visual connection to the landscape. The addition includes a redesigned entry sequence and acts as a threshold to an adjacent terrace and the fields beyond. Stone from a neighboring farm was used for the addition and unifies the exterior palette. A standing seam copper roof extends downwards on the rear elevation to form a protruding wall that is suggestive in appearance to the forebay of a traditional Pennsylvania barn. Glass contributes natural light and views to interior spaces, and also becomes a formal compositional element on the exterior, separating old and new, top and bottom, copper and stone. A second floor deck, carved from the ‘copper forebay’, is covered with a glass skylight that drains water via chain downspouts to river rock drainage beds below.
Photography: Jeffrey Totaro