This residence operates as a theater of domesticity in the city, oscillating between framed and hidden views. Social spaces engage with the neighborhood via a “proscenium” facing the street, while intimate spaces are sheltered from view in the wings and backyard. The residence’s palette, windows, framed views, and attitude toward the city nod to Edward Hopper’s near-cinematic paintings of American domesticity. The simple form relies on a complex set of part-to-whole relationships, creating variety and flexibility for the homeowners. Spatially, two bars frame an open passage in the middle. Programatically, an east-west hall on the interior connects the social spaces and bridges the two-bedroom wings. The social spaces also interconnect with the front porch and back terrace to create two interior-exterior rooms for entertaining. Structurally, the two axes synthesize in a 9-square grid.

The residence relates to its context in On Olive, introducing a Z-plan to the collected cruciform, square, and H-plan typologies. The plan also nods to the nearby Pulitzer Museum by Tadao Ando and historic St. Louis housing types, incorporating the dogtrot’s open center and the flounder house’s split, attenuated figure. The design takes advantage of the northern block’s elongated sites with its transparent passage that threads from the front porch, through the dining room, and out onto the backyard. The dining room in this breezeway can be opened for entertaining and cross-ventilation. The interior has a strong connection to the exterior with abundant windows that bring sunlight into the dwelling’s core. Clerestory windows line the east and west of the central dining space’s low ceiling, washing the adjacent social spaces’ high ceilings in light while guarding privacy to the east and west. Large corner windows in the living room and primary bedroom are turned toward the central passage and backyard to afford predominantly northern light and expansive views with increased privacy in intimate spaces. Flexibility is prioritized with social spaces that are interconnected and reconfigurable, bedrooms with separate entryways, and accessibility to accommodate various abilities and changing needs over time.

A pattern of light and shadows dances across the sloped facade panels, echoing the rhythmic texture of brick or lap siding blown up to a much larger size. This blue-grey fiber cement rainscreen clad aligns to vertical channels, turning the 2’ spacing of the wood-frame structure into a large drawing that defines the placement of windows and panels within its grid. Our design is environmentally sensitive through its material choices, orientation, and placement of windows and shading devices. A covered porch and deep window projection on the south facade provide shade that blocks the hot southern sun and avoids heat gain. A fireplace creates warmth in the winter, while a solar chimney evacuates hot air through the roof to reduce summer heat. The house is oriented such that light aligns with daily activities; the sun illuminates the kitchen in the morning, while the primary bedroom does not receive direct sunlight until the late afternoon. At night, reflected light on painted surfaces and cove lighting give the surfaces and occupants the glow of Hopper’s paintings.

Client: On Olive
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Size:  s.f./ m2;
Design: 2021
Construction: xxx

Architect: Constance Vale Studio
Developer: Owen Development / Steve Trampe
Structural Engineer: xxx
Contractor: xxx