A home renovation is an opportunity to reshape our spaces and open our lives to views and natural light. This Center City residence had served its owners for over thirty years when they contacted Terra Studio to design a fresh and modern transformation. The kitchen and dining room were opened and remodeled, the stairway was rebuilt, the fireplace was redesigned, and custom millwork, lighting, doors, trim, and furnishings were fitted throughout. The entire house was renewed with a colorful palette that highlights the owner’s art collection and emphasizes spatial flow, modern convenience, and well-being.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

This residence explores the relationship between new and existing architecture in the Rittenhouse-Fitler Historic District. The materials of the new façade – Pennsylvania brick, Indiana limestone, and standing seam metal roofing – are primary materials used throughout Philadelphia. The symmetrically composed façade and simplified classical details are a nod to the Georgian style of some of Philadelphia’s finest historic homes. The central, extended window subdivides the front into two halves, referencing the double nature of the property’s past. This window also expresses the modernist notion that exterior form should express interior use; the vertical window follows the rise of the dramatic interior stairway. The space made available by the consolidation of two lots allows an interior expansiveness that is unusual for a center city home. The interior was customized around all aspects of habitation while respecting the character of the home’s historic setting.  

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

Terra Studio transformed this Rittenhouse Historic District home by breaking open the ground floor rooms and bringing the outdoors in through the transformation of a rear parking space into a light filled Garden Room. The careful insertion of a glass roof and wall creates an all year garden connected to the kitchen and dining room. The bluestone floor and countertops, hand-painted Dutch tiles, red Lacanche stove and handcrafted bronze sink blend together to set the refined/country tone.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

This renovation brings light and translucency to a previously drab 1980s rowhouse. The wall separating the dining room and kitchen was removed to allow the modern, white cabinetry and glass backsplash to reflect natural light throughout the expanded space. In the master bath, the alignment of interior and exterior windows creates a telescopic view to the outdoors.

At the center of the house, stairs formed from runs of perforated stainless steel filter views and light through the layered levels. The folded ribbons of translucency add a sense of delight to the routine act of moving from floor to floor.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

This complete first floor renovation brings light and a modern sense of openness to this historic center city home. Walls and rooms were removed to wash light through the space from front to back. The extra-wide sliding glass doors unite the interior with the pleasant outdoor court. Fresh finishes and clever design features keep the space crisp and uncluttered. White oak vertical slats delineate the space and obscure two hidden doorways beneath the staircase and also support two floating knick-knack drawers at the front door. Below is a shoe cabinet – allowing all clutter to be hidden away behind modern finishes. A window seat was added at the front and the existing fireplace was transformed with dramatic porcelain tiles and a linear gas insert.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

Walls were removed to enlarge the sense of space within this condominium residence and all aspects of the interior were designed to create a comfortably modern feeling. Furnishings were custom designed and locally fabricated, including the bamboo wall grids, one of which supports the TV and slides between rooms. Local artists were also engaged to create pieces specifically crafted for the client and the setting.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

The spatial sequence of this 1940s São Paulo house was reversed to open the living areas to the tropical garden. The spaces were reconfigured and the windows were enlarged, leaving just the exterior walls and roof from the original house. The renovation respects the historic structure and creates new relationships between the interior and exterior.  

The front of this Philadelphia row house was fully refurbished while maintaining its traditional character. The interior of the house, on the other hand, was completely restructured and transformed into contemporary, open and naturally lit spaces. The furnishings were selected to blend harmoniously with the owner's art collection. Carefully orchestrated materials create a subtle blend of warm and cool colors in the modern and efficient spaces. The rear wall opens to the stepped patio, bamboo planter and surrounding greenery, which transform the yard into an urban oasis. 

Photographs by Sam Oberter

This house in Ubatuba, Brazil sits on a mountain within the Atlantic Tropical Forest and was hand built with recycled natural materials. The structure is made of fallen trees carried from the forest, the stone walls were constructed with pieces of granite found around the site and hand-made bricks were used for the floor and wood fired oven. The siting, structure and design of the house are all integrated to minimize the environmental impact and blend with the tropical surroundings.

The owner of this Fairmount row house wished to open his home upward to take in the dramatic view of Philadelphia's skyline. The roof was removed; the third floor enlarged and a spiral stair was constructed to rise to the new roof deck. The need to design around the existing chimney generated the curving bathroom forms. Glass tiles, modern fixtures and a custom curved shower door complement the spatial design.  

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

The Avalon house was designed to maximize the relationship between the interior and the exterior environments. Rooms and balconies were shaped around the ocean views. The first floor family room opens with expansive sliding glass doors to a tiered patio that steps down to the curved pool and hot tub. Natural materials were used throughout the living spaces and continue out to the pool area to emphasize the indoor/outdoor lifestyle connection for this beach home. 

Photographs by Jonathan Benoit

A major renovation and addition completely transformed the interior and exterior character of this home. The front façade was reinvented with a columned trellis and enlarged entry. The rear addition was set at a forty-five degree angle to create a feeling of openness and connection between the kitchen, breakfast area, and family room, while also framing the patio with its extensive bonsai collection. A palette of earth tones and natural materials harmoniously connects the interior rooms with the exterior gardens.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

This 1960's garage-front row house was not taking full advantage of its park setting. The extensive renovation removed the car from the house to re-inhabit the full three floors with light filled spaces that form more gracious connections to the exterior. Openings were enlarged and infilled with high performing windows and sliding glass doors. Interior material choices emphasized "green" with responsibly harvested wood flooring and tiles and countertops of recycled content. The addition of the third floor bay window completes the transformation. 

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

The extensive improvements to this sports club in São Paulo include a new exercise building, a new café, new locker rooms, improved squash courts, a new outdoor plaza, and a covered walkway. The renovations were designed to improve the quality of each of the spaces, form graceful connections between, and transform the club from a place to play and leave to a destination where people choose to linger through the day.

The new Parish Center constructed for the Mother of Divine Providence School in King of Prussia includes a 2,000sf cafeteria that also serves as an assembly space for the church community. Large expanses of windows and skylights provide substantial natural light and link the interior space to the playing fields beyond. The project also included renovations of the school gymnasium, which opens to the new addition with a movable partition, allowing for expanded uses of both the new and renovated spaces.

Photographs by Jeffrey Totaro

This unique school is dedicated to the development of a broader appreciation for the varied richness of wine, cheese and beer. The lecture series brings winemakers, brewmasters and cheesemakers from around the world to share their knowledge. The classroom and office spaces were developed to create a comfortable and modern feeling with natural materials and deep colors. The design complements the heightened experiences of taste and pleasure that are the core of the school’s curriculum.

Photography: Monica Rogozinski

Permeability is a strategy of openness that allows the potential flood waters to flow through without harm and allows the surrounding neighborhood to engage with the life of community. Through adaptive reuse and new construction, this project brings a combination of green building and neighborhood revitalization strategies to the Central City section of New Orleans. The mixed-use development consists of an assembly of housing, commerce and educational programs organized to spur the rebirth of this historic community. The design incorporates on-site water retention, energy demand reduction, efficiency maximization and free energy harvesting.