This custom, speculative, single family house is located on an extraordinary and steeply sloped site overlooking the Rock Creek Park area of Washington DC. The lot had remained unbuildable for years due to many factors including its slope but this design uses piers and an unusual, commercial-grade foundation design to elevate the house above the terrain below and minimize it’s intrusion into the landscape and designated buffer area. The piers elevate the first floor so that portions of it are more than 18 feet above the existing grade below. The design consists of two volumes separated by a glass-enclosed stair. One volume includes the kitchen, living and dining areas with bedrooms above and the other volume includes a den and additional bedrooms. All spaces are oriented toward the downhill views and the stair is also oriented so that ascent takes advantage of the views and western sun through the trees. Since the house is sited slightly below the street level due to topography, a loose-laid stone entry wall is used to visually buffer the entry approach from the street. The project required numerous environmental and landscaping consultants, coordination and reviews including USACE, DOEE, DDOT, DPW and UFA and all approvals were obtained by the AE team.
