Schwarzenbach Residence

Our renovation uncovers the underlying geometry of a 1952 Whitney Smith home that had been obscured by decades of compromises.

The two wings of this house, book-ended by diamond-shaped roof profiles, converge at the anchoring mass of a fireplace. While the ceilings suggest a structure that traces back to the generative form of the diamond, that connection had been buried over by earlier remodels. Recognizing this relationship as the dynamic through-line of the building, we sought to foreground it and to make it reverberant through the house.

Working within the pre-established structural rhythm, we peeled away layers to reveal visual connections and to accentuate relationships. We introduced functional amenities and articulated spaces for clarity and flow. We threaded the diamond through, its expressions respond to conditions at different junctures of the house.