Lyon Park House / Robert M. Gurney

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Text description provided by the architects. Lyon Park, in Arlington, Virginia is an “urban village” near Washington, DC. Most of the houses in this established neighborhood were constructed in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The houses vary in style, ranging from small single-story bungalows to larger wood and brick colonial revivalist houses. Streets are tree lined and the topography is gently rolling. After living in their house for about seven years, a young family of four hoped to transform their colonial house to better fit their lifestyle. A series of small but cozy rooms failed to connect with each other and to the deep, sloping landscaped backyard. Excluding the basement, the existing house comprised less than fourteen hundred square feet, with two bedrooms and only one full bathroom. Ideally, the transformation would retain the “sense of home” while providing spaces open to each other, additional bedrooms and a better connection to the landscaped site. A building that avoided stylistic mimicry with modern light filled spaces was desired. Sustainable construction techniques and the use of environmentally sensitive materials were expected.