Office: BLDUS | ArchDaily

Brown House / BLDUS

Andreas Luco — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 17:00:00 +0000

A single-family house in a newly named alley in Capitol Hill is an opportunity to elaborate upon a healthy material palette featuring black locust wood, cork cladding, hemp insulation, and bamboo structural walls. The design of the linear alley house strikes a balance between privacy and light, using balconies, a vestibule, a terrace, and a rooftop garden to mediate the site and its surrounding context. Durable black locust slats protect cork cladding, screen balconies, structure a fence, and provide fall protection on the rooftop. The exterior cork cladding is echoed by a spray cork finish on interior ceilings, while the bamboo structural panels are exposed on the interior and stained with PolyWhey, a by-product of the cheese industry. Cellulose and hemp insulation fill the hollow wall cavities and flat roofs. Copper details handle precipitation and highlight the layers of the house in Overbeck Alley.

Wide House / BLDUS

Hadir Al Koshta — Sat, 13 Jul 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Tucked away in an alley in central Washington, D.C., this long thin house subverts conventions of the surrounding rowhouse fabric and other alley houses being built nearby. Prioritizing a balance between natural light and privacy, the six-bedroom house features several outdoor spaces between it and its integral fence.

Poplar Grove / BLDUS

Pilar Caballero — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Formerly an unnamed lot with illegally parked and broken down cars, litter, and weeds, Adelaide Alley is now home to one of DC’s healthiest houses. Looking for a chance to build anew in DC, the architect-owner and their family decided to begin an adventure navigating DC’s brand new alley zoning and building regulations. The resulting house is a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom house totaling 2,500 square feet. Showcasing innovative natural materials while providing privacy and air to its inhabitants, Poplar Grove tries to be as considerate to its neighbors as it is to its residents.

Poplar Cloud House / BLDUS

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Perched on a visible hilltop overlooking the Potomac River and clad in natural materials, Poplar Cloud is a public-facing ode to healthy houses fitting harmoniously into their surroundings. Poplar Cloud sits beneath massive tulip poplar trees, with views to the historic Abner Cloud House along the edge of the Potomac.

Grass House / BLDUS

Pilar Caballero — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 15:00:00 +0000

The Grass House is a LEED Platinum accessory structure built behind a recently renovated 1892 Victorian house in the Historic Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Utilizing natural, traditional building materials processed with simple but modern techniques, the Grass House proposes a contextual and healthy alternative to standard stick-frame construction.

Swampy Hollow / BLDUS

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Swampy Hollow is a project of entrances, reimagining the front and the rear of an existing 1990’s wooded home. At the front entry, simple 6x6 wood columns and a chunky 6x12 beam replace outdated decorative columns. At the rear, a small screened porch addition is a lofty but cozy structure that nestles into the complicated roof line by rhyming with the existing main gable of the house.