“Bungalow” says small. But local architect Andrew Willett stretched the idea, respectfully borrowing a flourish of design elements from that cozy, classic house type for a spacious gabled home in The Ramble.
Created by Willett for repeat clients Sue Crowell and Graham Shannonhouse, the future residence — sited in a gently sloping cul-de-sac, and slated for a spring 2016 ground-breaking — is projected to be around 4,000 square feet.
Willett went for the look of a Western bungalow — a style marked by shallow rooflines, large overhangs, and, commonly, a cladding that includes stone, cedar shingles, and wood siding with heavy timber elements. (Eastern-style bungalows, a frequent sight in area neighborhoods such as Montford and West Asheville, exhibit a somewhat different aesthetic: restored examples typically show bright-painted wood on their exterior, with steeper rooflines and shallower overhangs.)
“For this house, I attempted to maintain the feel and quaint features of a small house, using the tricks of massing that a bungalow plays on, and just increasing the scale,” says Willett.
Outward embellishments include double columns, heavy-timber gable beams, and what the architect calls “fun with the window muntin bar patterns … and some arches for a bit of folly.”
These decorative features “start to tell our story, regardless of scale,” he adds.
The story actually began with a theory of Willett’s that predates the Crowell/Shannonhouse residence: the idea of a “thin house.”
The thinness has nothing to do with insulation, or lack thereof: like most any high-end new build, the Ramble home will be equipped with sturdy 2×6 walls and a geothermal heating/cooling package. Rather, Willett means a house that is made narrow from exterior wall to exterior wall — a technique that allows for the maximum influx of natural daylight and cross-ventilation.
“I saw a house in Richmond, Virginia, where I grew up, that took my breath away,” he relates. “It was probably no more than 18 feet wide, but rather long for its scale … two stories tall.
“I design houses that are sometimes small and other times quite large,” he notes, “but this concept is always one of my tools for success, when I can use it. The big idea is to make a thin house that nets massive ‘thick’ natural light.”
Willett admits that “the most efficient building type is a square shape.” However, he quips, “Who wants to live in a square?”
For houses of this scale, “efficient is not always the highest priority: the quality of the architecture starts to become paramount,” he continues. “Especially when you get into larger houses with more complex programs, and many rooms wanting to be on the main floor, it’s easy to end up with a house that is three rooms deep front to back. That can make for a house with a severe shortage of good natural lighting.”
Although it’s two stories tall, the residence is long and lean, constructed in a cross shape. “Each wing gets breezes from two directions, and other rooms are loaded at the ends of wings and have daylight on three sides,” explains Willett.
The exterior will feature Tennessee quarried stone, Georgia cypress siding, Douglas Fir-hewn timbers, and a bit of dashed stucco — what Willett calls “my smoother version of pebble dash.”
Inside, besides the expected suite of rooms, there’s a large exercise space and a “keeping room.” In modern open-floor plans, this old-fashioned concept means a cheerful (often hearth-adorned) lounging area near the kitchen where guests or family can gather while food is being prepared. Willett also mentions a Southern Appalachian “dogtrot”-style porch placed in the bend of the house, “a structural layout where a central area is left open to breath.”
In the Crowell/Shannonhouse residence, “it fits nicely in this in-between space, separating the common spaces from the master suite,” he says. “The screened porch in turn feeds to a deck that opens to the lovely rear yard.”
While “the thin house of thick light” might sound like the title of a mystery novel, the process to achieve that aesthetic is as clear as the view through the home’s many windows.
“Visual interest and a variety of materials,” says Willett, “is the only way to pull this off successfully.”
Contact architect Andrew Willett at 828- 253-1011. www.awillettarchitect.com.