Tulip Hills Residence
This house, designed for a couple with two young children, occupies a site along the sweep of the Potomac River. Perched on a steeply sloping site, it takes advantage of
This home, designed for a couple with two young children, sits on a steeply sloping site along a sweeping bend of the Potomac River. The design maximizes dramatic up and downriver views while maintaining privacy from neighboring 1960s ramblers.
The program includes a mainlevel dining room, kitchen, family room, mudroom, laundry, and screened porch; four bedrooms and an office on the second floor; and a lowerlevel living and recreation room. The house is organized as a simple linear bar divided into two volumes by a glazed slot: the upriver side for the adults, including a treehouselike office and screened porch, and the downriver side for the children. Doubleheight interlocking spaces link the public areas, while more enclosed elements buffer the home from the street. The open kitchen and family room enjoy expansive downriver views and connect to a rear terrace via an exterior stair. Morning sun fills the family room at the start of each day.
A butterfly roof gestures toward the surrounding tree canopy, while natural cedar siding echoes the warm tones of the leaves. Dark manganese brick paired with light splitface and groundface block emphasizes the horizontal plateau of the house. Materials such as bamboo, stone, and stainless steel highlight their natural qualities. At dusk, the ceiling of the main living space glows with a constellation of LED “stars,” complemented by the sound of a fountain recalling the river flowing over rocks below.
the views up and down river, while affording privacy from its immediate neighbors of predominately 1960's ramblers.
The program included a dining room, kitchen, family room, mudroom, laundry, screened porch on the main living level, with four bedrooms and an office on the second floor, and a lower level living room and recreation room.
The house is a simple bar, separated by a glazed slot into two pieces. The up-river portion is devoted to the adults and the down-river portion to the children. The adult side includes a screen porch and intimate scaled office, which makes reference to the Owner's desire to have a workspace perched in a tree house. Interlocking double height spaces connect the public levels of the house, while the more closed requisite elements of the plan provide a buffer from the street. A generous open kitchen and family room enjoy views down river and are linked to the rear terrace by an exterior stair. In the morning, sun streams into the family room as the family gathers at the start of a new day.
The butterfly roof makes a gesture to the tree canopy, while the warm tone of the natural cedar echoes their leaves. The combination of dark manganese brick and the light split face and ground face block emphasizes the horizontal plateau on which it sits. Materials, such as bamboo, stone, and stainless steel express their natural properties. In the evening, when the sun sets over the river, the ceiling of the main living space reveals a celestial pattern of LED stars that provide a balance at dusk, while the gentle flow of the water from the fountain reminds you of the water flowing over the rocks below.
Project team includes
- Contractor: Carl Petty Associates, Ltd
- Photography: © Hoachlander Davis Photography LLC
