The existing Chestnut Hill residence was like a diamond-in-the-rough; a grand 125 year-old house conflicted by compartmentalized floor plans that lacked clarify.
Studio Name: I-KANDA ARCHITECTS
Design Team: ISAMU KANDA
SANGSURI CHUN
STEVEN HIEN
GRAYSCALE DESIGN
Area: 6,100 sf (565 sm)
Year: 2018
Location: BOSTON, MA
Consultants:
GRAYSCALE DESIGN (INTERIORS)
BRITE BUILDERS (GENERAL CONTRACTOR)
FURNITURE DESIGN SERVICES (MILLWORK)
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY (STRUCTURAL ENGINEER)
Photography Credits: MATT DELPHENICH PHOTOGRAPHY
Formal rooms at the front of the house including the living, study and dining rooms were proportionately large but presented dead ends for circulation. High traffic rooms at the back of the house including the rear entrance, mudroom, kitchen and den were effectively separated from the rest of the house by narrow service corridors.
To create clarified circulation throughout, unexpected but strategic connections were inserted between spaces. The overall floor plan becomes unified by the surgical incision of new passages that create multi-directional axis for light and movement.
Each passage is clad in a different material to contrast sharply with the surrounding traditional casings – blackened steel, smoky mirror, glass panel, bright wallpaper, even faux-grass.
Custom made faceted cabinetry and angular built-ins throughout the home respond both to the chamfered corners found in many of the original rooms, and to the newly clarified circulation patterns.
