As it booms, Western North Carolina manifests almost as many architectural looks, original and reproduction, as it does diversity of flora and fauna. But not many neighborhoods can boast all those styles in one stretch.
Kenilworth, a long-established East Asheville enclave, already seems to have everything. Its extreme convenience — it’s a few minutes from downtown and even a shorter interval from the Tunnel Road commercial district — somehow doesn’t detract from its air of a private, woodsy oasis.
Likewise, its architecture is a distillation of the regional buffet. “Kenilworth [contains] some of Asheville’s most interesting houses. You’ll find traditional Arts and Crafts, Asian-inspired Craftsman, Prairie Style, Tudor, and others,” acknowledges architect Brent Campbell. A newer Kenilworth development, Beaucatcher Heights (named for the nearby mountain), will likewise feature a mix of styles, and that’s where Campbell is creating the ultra-contemporary home of Don and Judy Galloway, a psychologist and attorney, respectively, retiring from the Maryland suburbs of DC.
The main page of Campbell’s website shows a dramatic structure, designed to look like an 1850s gristmill (complete with waterwheel), that the Asheville architect created as the residence of a fiber artist. He’s directed some of the city’s most culturally significant commercial projects, including the relocation of French Broad Chocolate Lounge and the design of The Lofts at Asheville’s trendy South Slope.
The Galloways’ home, with its sleek, low geometry, is unimpeachably urban. It’s also designed to take in the neighborhood’s surprisingly fresh vistas. While Don says he was looking for “cooler and drier summers” in his choice of a retirement locale, Judy wanted “to be part of a vigorous community with learning opportunities, [close to] health care [i.e. nearby Mission Hospital], access to the performing arts, restaurants, and public spaces.” Plus, she adds: “A view. I really wanted a view.”
“With all of the glass and open rooms, contemporary homes lend themselves to [full enjoyment] of mountain topography,” Campbell points out. This negates the tired view of “modern” as cold and sterile. Just the opposite, actually. “Warmth,” he says, “is subjective. I’m finding a lot of folks these days feel cozy with simple, clean lines, lots of sunlight, and refined materials with simple detailing.”
The most, well, contemporary of contemporary homes benefits from an abundance of natural materials. In the best cases, it’s a nod to regional artisanry that can meld easily with more high-tech features. The Galloway residence will have a tongue-and-groove wooden ceiling on the main level — ironically, one of the oldest carpentry styles in the world — and wooden cabinetry to soften the spaces. (The floors are white oak, milled from the lot itself.)
Similarly, the foyer wall and stair will incorporate local custom-made steelwork, adding what Campbell calls “an organic sculptural folly” to the interior. The home’s exterior is an inspired mix of cypress and painted concrete.
A stylized roofline and a staggered footprint add visual interest, anchored by an authoritative entryway of canted metal that’s garlanded with a clerestory.
“This element will also add interesting daylighting to the kitchen,” says Campbell. An approximate total of 2,600 square feet does not include two outdoor rooms, one with a fireplace.
“We are great lovers of natural landscapes,” says Don. “We plan to use native plants exclusively for landscaping — nothing that isn’t native to North Carolina, and preferably nothing that doesn’t grow wild in the Southern Appalachians.” (Though he was not NC-raised, Don can “claim kin” with such important, historic Buncombe County names as Vance, Baird, and McLean.)
Among the aging-in-place features designed for the Galloways are large door openings, curb-less showers, a single-floor plan, enclosed parking, and an oversize closet built to accommodate a future elevator, if needed. “Although we would have preferred the instant gratification of buying [a house], more than two years of looking convinced us that the closest approximation of what we wanted could be obtained by building,” explains Judy.
Staying true to his vision of sustainability, the architect will implement an energy-saving system combining a geothermal pump with radiant heating. “Both of us are looking forward to that experience,” says Judy.
A natural fit for mountain living, the couple exerts a vigorous practicality. Don says they insisted there be no interior space without a purpose: “no living rooms no one goes in, no breakfast nooks only the cat eats in, no sofas in foyers,” he quips.
Judy adds hospitality to the mix. “The kitchen opens into the living/dining room, allowing the cook to be present with anyone in that area,” she notes. “The guest room on the second floor promises to rival the master bedroom, with doors opening onto the screened porch and views to the east and west.”
And she hasn’t forgotten the Shona figurative artwork the couple collected during their travels in Zimbabwe and South Africa. “These sculptures convey meaning with simple lines and textures, using soapstone or serpentine in black and green tones — very organic in form and substance,” says Judy. “I look forward to seeing these old friends in our new house.”
For more information about architect Brent Campbell, call 828-230-7732 or visit bcavl.com