Fitler Square House & Garden

The dense urban environment of central Philadelphia doesn’t often provide in-town residences with generous exterior space. This 19th-century townhome is unusual in that it does not front onto the street it addresses; the property is instead entered via a walled side garden from Lombard Street. During schematic design, the client was presented with the rare opportunity to purchase an adjacent vacant lot perpendicular to her home. The result? A unique L-shaped site that provides front and rear entrances on two separate streets.

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The client initially came to us for a kitchen renovation, but through an extended schematic design phase, we discovered that an ambitious, larger-scale remodel of the entire property was needed to realize the potential for making the ground floor and gardens more generous and spatially interconnected.

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In the end, the ground floor and exterior spaces were entirely reconfigured. The basement was finished and expanded with a guest suite, laundry room, and storage. The dining room was enlarged; the main circulation path through the house was widened; a new powder room, anteroom, and closets were provided; and a large eat-in kitchen capable of accommodating full on-site catering services was added to the southeast corner of the newly formed L-shaped site.

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The kitchen addition’s bluestone floors continue out to the exterior paving, enhancing the relationship between inside and out. A path of the same stone extends to a new garden shed that fronts onto 23rd Street, and acts as a threshold and gateway into the private realm of the new garden. A clear-stained cedar fence and carefully placed allee of trees supply additional privacy from neighboring buildings.

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The original entry sequence from Lombard Street was preserved, while the grading, paving, and plantings were redesigned and formalized into three distinct tiers that create outdoor rooms for entertaining.

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Large areas of new windows and glass doors bring abundant daylight deep into the home and visually connect the interior of the house to the expanded and remodeled gardens.

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Team:

Andrew Curtis  Partner, MRAIC, AIA, LEED BD+C

Sophie Robitaille  Partner, ASLA, CSLA, AAPQ

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Photography © Catherine Tighe