Red House

This project serves as an example of a third option that satisfies both the need to bring progressive architecture that meets contemporary demands as well as the preservation of historic forms and robust building stock.

The challenge of this project was to breathe new life into an existing 1910 farmhouse-style building located in an urban SE Portland neighborhood. A balance between old and new was desired: memory of the original balanced with the freshness and vitality of the new. The solution was to maintain the original form, but abstract it into a modern sculpture. Furthering the experience of the building as a singular form, the traditional interior was reimagined as one main room per floor with support spaces surrounding these main rooms, thereby creating a “thickened edge.” New windows were cut into this thickened edge with the glass set to the inside. From the outside, the two-foot deep window sills give a carved-out and sculptural appearance. The exterior is painted a monochromatic red further giving the house an abstract quality and elevating economical cladding materials, such as lap siding, to a noble effect. Portland is in the midst of a heated controversy over the demolition of existing housing stock for new development. The Red House serves as an example of a third option that satisfies both the need to bring progressive architecture that meets contemporary demands as well as the preservation of historic forms and robust building stock.