custom residential
kimball residence
As avid art enthusiasts and collectors, the Kimballs wanted to create a home to showcase their art collection. Additionally, with a second home in the mountainous West, the Kimballs spend a great deal of time outdoors. When they are home in Raleigh, I wanted to make sure to maximize their exposure to nature on this small in-town lot. These two concepts are carried through into the design in spaces created specifically to view certain artwork on a backdrop of nature.
I wanted to create an interior space that had the clarity and diffused light of an art gallery, but the warmth and ease of a well-loved home. To achieve this feel I started with the overall form. Conceptually, the private spaces are stacked in a two-story solid volume while the more transparent public spaces wrap around this volume. This strategy allowed for large expanses of clear wall space in the public spaces to display artwork and large expanses of glass on the exterior to view nature. With no additional program stacking on the public spaces, I was also able to play with the ceiling heights and modes of natural lighting. I utilized double-height and vaulted ceilings to help define certain spaces. A combination of floor-to-ceiling, skylight, and clerestory glazing create a well-lit interior from morning to night, even on cloudy days. These volumes are capped with deep overhanging roofs that seem to soar and provide passive shading for the clerestory windows that wrap the public spaces.
The Kimballs appreciated mid-century modern design for integrating architecture with nature. By utilizing the site's gentle slope, I embedded the house's left side into the landscape. This created a sunken entry court, immersing visitors in the natural surroundings before entering the home — it also had the added benefit of allowing us to meet Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District height restrictions!