B.3 - C14H-1997-0008_1012 Edgecliff Terrace.pdf — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS B.3 - 1 MAY 18, 2020 C14H-1997-0008 NORWOOD HOUSE 1018 EDGECLIFF TERRACE PROPOSAL Restore main house and add a trellis to the rear of the building. Reconstruct the historic teahouse gazebo. Add a new storage building and auxiliary function building to the site. Remodel landscape. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS 1) Main house: Most structural members will be repaired or replaced to retain the building’s original form. It will be clad in running-bond brick with soldier and sill course detailing; river rock and limestone accents throughout define the house’s exterior openings, sills, columns, and chimney. Masonry elements will match historic photographs and samples found on-site. The roof will be retiled with Ludowici clay shingles, with finish and color matching original samples. Wood window screen frames, doors, columns, lanterns, frieze boards, vents, and timber framing will be restored where possible. Window screens will be replaced with non-reflective bronze screen. Wood window sashes will be replaced in- kind where deterioration precludes repair and rehabilitation; as most of the original glazing is missing, it will be replaced with energy-efficient double glazing. Façade variations are as follows: a) South: The main elevation will be rebuilt to match historic photographs of the building, with the addition of a brick and exposed concrete access ramp and exposed-concrete steps. b) East and west: Two windows will shift slightly from their original placement at the west elevation. c) North: The central windows will be enlarged and replaced with fixed, single-pane clear picture windows and two aluminum-clad doors. The positions of the existing door and window will be reversed. 2) Teahouse: The teahouse, a simple brick-columned structure with attached trellis, exposed rafter tails, and tiled hipped roof, will be constructed on the site of the historic teahouse. 3) Storage and support buildings: A CMU storage building with flat roof and fixed-pane windows will be set back from the main house. It is connected to the new auxiliary building by a walkway covered with a steel drill-stem pipe trellis. The auxiliary building, constructed with matching CMU and fenestration, features small skylights and solar panels on its flat roof. 4) Site work: The proposed landscaping plan for the event lawn follows the general design of the historic formal garden. A low concrete fountain will be installed at the site of the historic fountain, and a low brick retaining wall will define the lawn’s edge. STANDARDS FOR REVIEW The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation are used to evaluate projects on historic landmarks. The following standards apply to the proposed project: 1) A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships. B.3 - 2 The proposed use of this historic home for event space will not drastically change its features, and all exterior materials on street-visible elevations will match the original, substantiated by historic photographs. 2) The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided. The historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that remain will, for the most part, be restored and retained. The north elevation, where the most extensive changes to the main house appear in the proposal, was altered during the 1960s and ‘70s and is not visible from the street. 9) New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work will be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment. The proposed trellises and auxiliary structures are set back from the historic building, and their low-slung form, subtly roughhewn materials, and minimal detailing do not compete with the house’s architecture. 10) New additions and adjacent or related construction will be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired. If the new buildings, reconstructed teahouse, and rear trellis were removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic house would remain intact. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Reconstruction may also apply to the proposed project: 1) Reconstruction will be used to depict vanished or non-surviving portions of a property when documentary and physical evidence is available to permit accurate reconstruction with minimal conjecture, and such reconstruction is essential to the public understanding of the property. The proposed project uses photographic and physical evidence to reconstruct missing elements. 2) Reconstruction of a landscape, building, structure or object in its historic location will be preceded by a thorough archeological investigation to identify and evaluate those features and artifacts that are essential to an accurate reconstruction. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures will be undertaken. The building has been relocated on the property several times since the 1980s. In 1984, the site was greatly disturbed in preparation for condominium development, which ultimately never occurred. A 1995 conditions report references no earlier subsurface testing, other than soil boring prior to Riverside Drive improvements in 1986. While stabilization, environmental remediation, and relocation efforts in the 2010s required some site clearance and excavation, the scope of work did not include a formal archeological survey. 3) Reconstruction will include measures to preserve any remaining historic materials, features and spatial relationships. B.3 - 3 The restoration and reconstruction proposal for the main house includes measures to repair and replace existing exterior design elements where possible. The landscape plan for the event lawn is centered around the extant walkways and boundaries of the historic formal garden, and the teahouse gazebo will be reconstructed in its original location. 4) Reconstruction will be based on the accurate duplication of historic features and elements substantiated by documentary or physical evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability of different features from other historic properties. A reconstructed property will re-create the appearance of the non-surviving historic property in materials, design, color and texture. The proposed project uses photographic evidence and physical evidence, where available, to reconstruct missing or deteriorated elements in a manner true to the original in design, materials, color, and texture. 5) A reconstruction will be clearly identified as a contemporary re-creation. Interpretive materials were not included in the scope of this Certificate of Appropriateness application. 6) Designs that were never executed historically will not be constructed. New buildings on the site are clearly differentiated from the old in design, materials, and spatial relationships. The proposal does not include design elements with a historic appearance that did not originally exist. The project meets most applicable standards. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS Not reviewed. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Approve as proposed with the recommendation that on-site interpretive materials are included in the project’s scope of work. The proposed auxiliary buildings read as new and are compatible with the historic house in size, scale, massing, and materials. The repairs, rehabilitation, and site work are respectful of Kuehne’s design, materials, and site layout while expanding Norwood House’s potential for adaptive reuse. Proposed reconstruction efforts are backed by documentary and physical evidence, and repair appears to take precedence over replacement or reconstruction where possible. LOCATION MAP B.3 - 4 PROPERTY INFORMATION Historic photos B.3 - 5 Southwest elevation. Source: Applicant South elevation. Source: Applicant B.3 - 6 East elevation. Source: Applicant West elevation. Source: Applicant B.3 - 7 Teahouse with pergola and garden. Source: NorwoodParkFoundation.org Current photos Aerial view. Source: Applicant South elevation. Source: Applicant B.3 - 8 West elevation. Source: Applicant