Min / Max House
New Orleans, LA
2021
Historical, intergenerational, expanding, contracting, multiuse, multifunctional dwelling. This is the renovation and expansion of a 1940s 1,280 sq. ft. (16'x80') 'Shotgun' house in NOLA's historic Mid-City neighborhood.
The design addresses three scenarios: 1.) a single family dwelling of 2 beds/4 baths, 2.) the conversion of the office, or front hall, and full bath into an 'in-law suite', and 3.) two distinct units including the dominant 2 bed /3ba house and an attached ADU (accessory dwelling unit). The third scenario is possible via the design of a future party wall, or demising wall, integrated into the kitchen layout of the single family home. Modular cabinets can be removed in order to construct the partition that will divide the space into two units. Careful consideration of the placement of fixtures allows the unaltered re-use of main pieces of equipment. For example, the prep sink in the maximum house scenario becomes the main sink in the minimum downsized house + ADU scenario and the pair of column refrigerators/freezers in the max house becomes 2 refrigerator over freezers in the min house(s).
In this way, the house breathes, expands and contracts, over time.
Additionally, the historic district design requirements maintain that 50% of the existing roof structure in the front of the house (or it's footprint) be preserved. Therefore, it is common in Mid-City and similar historic districts to see houses with rear, second-story additions. Locally, this type of house form is referred to as a 'camel-back.' The single-story half of the house presented a straight-forward approach to dividing the dwelling into two units while maintaining a code-required fire and acoustic separation.
Remarkable features of the design include: a 20 ft. long kitchen island with soapstone countertops in the max house, tall ceilings on both levels (shotgun houses historically have 10' high ceilings), salvaged wood doors and shutters, and a decorative and functional system of solar shades and storm shutters with custom locking and positioning brackets (although not realized).
photos by: @asolidvoid
