The Italian villa concept that Birmingham architect Jeff Dungan developed for a new house in a historic neighborhood derives from the classical proportions, symmetry, and concise forms of 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio. The initial direction Dungan got from his client, Birmingham designer Richard Tubb, was classic too -- a floor plan sketched on a napkin.
From the beginning, both men agreed that the architecture would function as a restrained modifier of Tubb’s interior design. A limestone front façade, a standing-seam bronze hipped roof, symmetrical downspouts, and a minimum of fenestration are elements of formal museum architecture. In contrast, the heavy wood portico and double rear porches are weathered and rustic. “The building was conceived as a repository for Richard’s talent,” says Dungan. “My intention was to create the appropriate envelope for it.”
What challenged and molded the plan in its formative stages was the historical significance of the neighborhood, Birmingham’s venerable Forest Park. A design review board passing muster on new construction wanted continuity of style in the district, and the austere modernism of what Dungan refers to as “a perfectly articulated stucco box” was initially problematic -- even though its elegant villa style is as classically grounded as that of several nearby Italian Revival and Mediterranean houses.
A few changes softened its cutting-edge presentation to the neighborhood. “I raised the hipped roof behind the parapet wall to keep the front from being too modern,” says Dungan. A pergola surmounting the formal entry’s French doors also softens the appearance; its heavy cedar-timbered construction transitions the architecture to the landscape. Lush surrounding gardens and Confederate jasmine climbing the canted timbers give the façade an even more authentic villa effect.
Dungan developed a larger setting for the house on its small lot by moving the structure three to four feet toward the 40-foot vertical slope. The subsequent cliff-hanger effect on three back stories provides space for a sunken courtyard facing the two stories visible from the front.
The floor plan Tubb sketched defined the interiors, except for the minor transposition of the laundry and powder rooms. His goal was to live practically and fully on three levels that are each rectangular and open for lots of light. Behind the long, second-story entry foyer is the primary living level of kitchen, living room, and dining room. The double-height living room penetrates to balconies cantilevered from the top-floor bedrooms.
The basement is a secondary living space that Tubb uses as a staging area for receptions and charity events. The starkness of its exposed ductwork and cement walls and floor epitomizes his design style, which he labels as monastic.
“I’m simple in my approach,” he explains. “No crown molding, no millwork details -- the interior architecture should serve as a backdrop.” Adding to the sharp look of the basement are the exposed floor joists and a concrete floor scored and glazed with a white slurry.
Dungan developed clean, functional, and what he calls “machined-out spaces” that Tubb softened with art and unique objects, arranging them in ways that are anything but austere. A color palette that Dungan says “supports the rooms instead of making a statement” was appropriate for the project. “It taught me more about color than I’ve learned anywhere,” says Dungan. “It delivers serenity.”
In 2006, the project received the American Institute of Architects Merit Award in the Residential category. Not bad for a design that started on a napkin.
JUST THE FACTS
Architect: Jeff Dungan of Dungan Nequette Architects in Birmingham
Designer: Richard Tubb of Richard Tubb Interiors
Style: Sixteenth-century architect Andrea Palladio’s villa concept honed to 21st-century basics with a contrast of formal museum detailing
Materials: In front, weathered limestone; on the sides, stucco atop brick; bronze standing-seam roof; weathered cedar timbers for the
portico and porches; Brazilian ipe walnut floors
Size: About 3,000 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths
Paint Colors: Whip-Poor-Will (interior trim); Coffee Bean, with extra black (doors and windows); Palomino Beige (living room walls); Spiderweb
(bedrooms); Smokestone (ceilings), all by Martin Senour.
RESOURCES: Architecturewww.dungan-nequette.comInteriorsLandscapingwww.earth-good.comConstructionMartin Senour,www.martinsenour.com.
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