Cross Gable Connection—Design Awards 2015 Platinum, Commercial Remodel

Commercial Remodel
Homewood Properties, Clarksville, Md.
Architect: Lehman Associates
Interior designer: Homewood Interiors

Challenges: Abandoned for seven years, the church was ravaged by neglect, water infiltration, and termites. The interior plaster was crumbling, the wood floors were unsalvageable, and there was lead paint, asbestos, and mold throughout.

Solutions: Toxins were removed in accordance with state and federal regulations. The heavy timber sill plates and the bottom portions of the wood studs were then substantially reframed.

An addition was built with a cruciform (crossed gable) plan that has transepts connecting the old to the new.

At the cross gables of the addition, an 8-foot-diameter glass dome allows for natural daylighting into the center of the new design-studio space.

The exterior façade was finished with painted mahogany Dutch lap siding to replicate the original structure. Exposed portions of the foundation walls are covered with a natural stone veneer to match the original dry-set stone foundations. The roof is constructed of SIPs panels and covered by a gray composite slate, with copper flashings and snow guards.

The casement-style windows are custom-designed aluminum-clad wood, with gothic-arch fixed grilles. The church is now an interior design studio.

What the judges said: “I was blown away by the tremendous undertaking of this exquisite remodel. Tasteful and artful design  transforms the space into a powerful statement on line, texture, color, and rhythm.”

In a journey from abandoned to artful, a church gets a top-to-bottom remodel that breathes new life into—and brings a new use to—this neglected gem