ARCHITECTURE and DESIGN
Renovation / New Construction
Richter-Norton Architecture pllc
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
what is a deck house?
Architectural features of the original Deck House include:
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•post and rafter/beam structure;
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•cedar tongue and groove planks which form the
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•hardwood ceiling and
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•hardwood floor panels;
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•8’ column spacing which gave way to a more open floor plan;
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•skylights;
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•low pitched roof with wide overhangs;
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•a 2’ cantilevered first floor;
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•wide brick chimney as a vertical element tying the two floors and roof together;
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•a disciplined determination of window placement based on public/private distinction and southern exposure;
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•long horizontal bands of windows and sliding glass doors alternating with long expanses of windowless walls,
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•outdoor decks with wood decking;
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•cedar siding.
(If you notice anything missing, please send an email.)
more on Deck House, Modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright
The Deck House falls under the “Midcentury Modern” category of residential architecture, dating back to the 1930’s and ending as late as 1975. Notable architects Richard Neutra and George Matsumoto designed houses in the Raleigh-Durham area; residential architecture of the age defined by Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Mies Van der Rohe and others.
The Origins of the Mid Century Modern American House. Part One is a good place to start if you are interested in learning more about Modernist housing, in general. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian Houses can be studied and visited through the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. An amazing archive of Modernist houses in the Triangle and beyond, see George Smart’s Triangle Modernist Houses.
CAD models of Deck House
deck house renovation: background
919.824.7349
DECK HOUSE
