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Bienville House

Lakeshore Renovation

Suburban Home Renovation

Camel Back Addition and Renovation

Camel Back in Black is the quintessential “mullet house,” which is the common name for a renovated historic home in the front (business) with a modern addition in the rear (party).  In this case the existing structure was an early 20th century New Orleans Shotgun Duplex Home that was adapted to be shorter due to both site constraints and an existing carport addition, which was removed. The design strategy was to create a distinct new entry to the main unit of the home along the side of the property.  This was achieved through a clear delineation of a modern massing of a second story addition (called a Camelback in New Orleans) with a roof that wraps to frame an exterior gate. The gate leads to a raised rear yard, which was filled in to be the same height as the main home to make it more of an extension of some of the public spaces rather than a small sunken pit, which can often be a lifeless space. 

Many time you will see new Camelback additions in the city that take a more blended approach, but in this case because of the corner lot and the desire to create a prominent entry (along that side) a clear line is delineated between old and new. This was done intentionally to clearly represent the original form with appropriately renovate historic details true to the original, without creating a false sense of history through an addition that would have not represented a proportion that was standard for the time the original structure was built. 

The existing home was the childhood dwelling of the owner, who inherited it years after it fell into disrepair. There was mold, rot and structural disrepair, but it was important to the owner that NFA preserved as much of the existing portions of the home as possible; so where there was flooring that could be preserved (and refinished) it was, where there were historic interior and exterior trim detailing that could be preserved it was and if not it was replicated in kind to the original.  On the other hand, there were certain modern needs and updates that were desired and didn’t want the design to feel overly constrained by certain replicas of historic troupes. So, the addition and many of the interior finishes were intentionally contemporary.

Front Porch Addition

Some of the basic project goals were to create a large private deck connected to the 2nd floor unit and a separate enclosed outdoor space below linked to the 1st floor unit suitable for large gatherings and a secure parking space when needed. The addition needed to also include an external stair so that a stair inside the existing duplex could be removed. Removing this (internal) stair would free up a lot of valuable space allowing for the improved reconfiguration of both the 1st and 2nd floors.

Rather than seeing the project as several tacked-on elements working in disharmony with the existing façade, NFA sought to unify them with cohesive, organizing elements that could serve as a new front façade re-defining the street presence of the building as a whole. The idea was for the porch to appear as a balloon framed exoskeleton that surrounded the addition with a consistent veil, creating privacy and a dynamic visual experience that varies from opaque at acute angles to more transparent at perpendicular ones. It allows for both privacy and public (longer distance) views from the interior, shifting your range of focus based on need (or desire) from privacy. For the project to remain on budget, most of the material was dimension lumber with painted (black) #1 grade used as the perimeter framing and key elements highlighted in clear stained cedar behind at the floor perimeter, the stairs and framed openings.

Saturated Backyard Renovation

The backyard of this home was in rough shape. There was a neglected kidney shape pool, a small storage shed, inconsistent ground cover and a collection of 4 different fences wrapping the perimeter. Broadly speaking, the goal of the homeowners was to transform the space from one that repelled them to one that drew them to being outside for improved metal and physical wellness. The specific uses they wanted to achieve this goal were a new cabana with multiple functions (including a home gym, shaded lounge space, dining space, and a small outdoor kitchen), a renovated pool and consistent landscaping with a more cohesive design. 

Backyard Renovation

The owners knew they wanted to create spaces in their backyard that be useful and encourage them to be outside more often, but because their backyard space is so massive the scope and size of the project was initially difficult to define. After a few initial rounds of design, the project ended up creating a series of spaces near their house and pool rather than try to utilize the entirety of their yard. 
The existing pool was situated in proximity (and almost entirely aligned) to a detached garage. The garage was perfectly useful for parking cars, but nothing special Architecturally and certainly not functionally associated with the pool. The cabana would have been too far away from the main home if it were located on the opposite side of pool and would have been too large and visually obtrusive if arrange to the side of the pool. The design of the cabana was conceived as an addition to the garage that more appropriately capped the end of the pool with an openable space that could be used for cooking, lounging in the shade poolside, or playing games in with the space itself. There wasn’t enough space between the garage and pool to contain all the uses they wanted, so an additional shade structure with a dining space and a fire pit with build-in benches was included to the project, located near their existing living room.
Board formed concrete walls were used as a common element between the shade structure and the cabana. The base used as a planter wall and back to the bench in the shade structure is maintained in the base of cabana to develop aesthetic cohesion between the two spaces. The cabana engages a build in bar to a series of folding glass walls for compact efficient use. The interior of the cabana had to maintain the existing garage roofline for structural stability, but the interior is vaulted to the highest extent possible. The interior of the vault is lined with wood to frame the space for visual clarity enhancing transparency.
A goal of the project was to make a vast backyard more useful at a walkable scale by creating outdoor spaces close to each other and the existing living areas in and around the home. Rather than attempt to encapsulate the entire backyard it creates density around the edges that look onto the backyard. Because the spaces engage with the existing conditions the space has become a much-used outdoor living space.
(Photos of After Construction Conditions by Sara Essex Bradley)

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