Pollack Residence

Pollack Residence

At some point in the 1980s, the original 50s-era house was remodeled in a quasi-post modern style. By the time current owners acquired the property, the house had been covered with synthetic stucco and crowned with a clunky parapet. In front of the house, railing enclosed a partially submerged carport to become a roof porch. At the rear of the house, upper-level porches were supported by unattractive pipe columns, and generic gutters and downspouts had were added. Any mid-century modern charm that may have existed was gone.

The new owners wanted to improve the appearance of the exterior and add a family room, two bedrooms, and a swimming pool. The architect’s solution involved relocating the garage to an inconspicuous place and inserting the new family room where the garage had previously been. A three-story guest bedroom tower was added at the opposite end of the original house. The design removed clunky parapets and reframed the roof reframed to extend beyond the wall below to give depth to the façade. In the interstitial space between the new family room and the main house, a koi pond was inserted, creating a sunken garden viewed from the entry approach above. On the back of the house, a new black steel structure replaced the unattractive pipe columns supporting the porches. New terrace, pool, stairs, railings, and shade structure integrated as extensions from the house. New wood siding and trim were added to the exterior to soften the starkness of the all-white stucco cladding, complimenting the brown tones of the existing stone foundation walls.