After a few years of living with a too-cold / too hot/ too humid sunroom made of aluminum framing and deteriorating polycarbonate panels from a previous owner’s renovation, the owners of this 1930 stucco-finished Colonial Revival home approached SIA to design a new room, utilizing the existing composite concrete masonry and stone foundation. Adjacent to their kitchen, the owners desired a comfortable new dining space that would become a new family gathering and lounging spot. Not wanting to lose the light that the fully glazed, yet uncomfortable existing room provided, they wanted ample light to flow into the room and through to the kitchen, and they needed a central storage space for cleaning supplies that didn’t have a home in convenient spot to support their busy family’s activities. As tall people, they also desired as high a ceiling as possible, yet an existing second floor window in the main house was a constraint.

SIA worked with the owners’ goals and the site constraints to propose a new dining room with a split-gable cathedral-ceiling roof, with the interior height reaching 15’. The glazing pattern reflects the roof design, and dynamic patterns of light are further created throughout the day with clerestory windows in the vertical wall between the two roof sections. Storage and seating is incorporated to meet the owners’ needs and to be in dialogue with the lines created by the windows. The room is also designed with Passive House strategies, with a super-insulated enclosure comprised of two air barriers, smart vapor control, 2” of continuous exterior insulation outside of insulated 2x6 framed walls, 4” of continuous roof insulation outside of 2x10 roof framing, and triple-pane windows. A highly efficient mini-split heat pump provides efficient heating and cooling while an energy recovery ventilator provides targeted healthy ventilation. These strategies exceed building code by nearly 35%, providing the owners with a room that reduces energy bills, yet provides the most comfort of all the rooms in their house with minimal conditioning. The architectural language of the new room is distinctly modern, yet seeks to blend and be in conversation with the existing architecture by matching the existing white exterior stucco finish of the main house as well as matching roof cladding.