This project involves the renovation of, and additions to, a small guest house that is part of a larger residential compound. Originally designed by Fernau + Hartman Architects, this widely-published compound was completed in 1998 and is comprised of 22 different volumes within 7,800 square feet. The assemblage, containing a main house, guest house, and pool house, was commissioned by Gaston Caperton, the governor of West Virginia at that time. The main house served as a primary residence, a gallery of West Virginia art, and a rural retreat for friends, family, and colleagues visiting from Washington D.C. and New York City. It was an architectural icon designed for entertaining.

Our clients are the second owners of the house and lifelong friends of the former governor. After living in the main house for 15 years, our clients wanted to make changes that would allow them to age in place on the property. The house’s 13 different levels made it physically challenging for them to continue living there safely. The goal of the project was to address the physical and perceptual challenges of aging in place, all while preserving and honoring the original design. The renovations and additions to the guest house created an accessible, one-bedroom house that accommodates the couple’s mobility, cognitive, vision, and balance challenges. Now that our clients have moved into the guest house, their son and his family will move into the main house.

The 648-square-foot guest house originally contained only a bedroom, a bathroom, and a second floor loft. The existing first floor spaces were converted into a kitchen and dining area. Additions include a living room, porch, and terrace, all focused on views of the woods and river. The new primary bedroom addition jogs around two mature trees. The bathroom features a walk-in tub and an accessible shower and toilet. Raised Corten steel planters allow a lifelong gardener to be safely seated while she tends to her plants and provide her with a visual cue that indicates the edge of the terrace. The guest house is now self-sufficient. It has a necessary degree of privacy from the main house but is still part of the overall compound. This arrangement will enable three generations of the family to interact, socialize, and support one another.

The design intention was to fully preserve and honor Fernau + Hartman’s design, which we have always admired. The approach to the massing and material palette of the additions was to be compatible with the existing guest house, complement its small scale, and clearly read as new construction. The original exterior palette was executed in red, olive green, yellow, and blue stained wood and ribbed steel siding. The new volumes were purposely clad in contrasting materials, such as poplar bark shingles, thermally modified pine, stamped zinc-coated metal, and Shou Sugi Ban siding, to distinguish between the existing and the new, while still complementing the original materials.