Designed by Zoning
PROJECTS
ADDITIONS/RENOVATIONS
A 60-year-old 625 square foot garage in Madison, Ct. was in full violation of every setback on a small coastal site that had a septic system on it. The owners wanted to make a heated and cooled outbuilding, following the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) strictures of the code, and work to comply with the septic code.
Rather than rebuild everything – garage, septic system, driveway – the existing building was reinvented, where all new walls and roof met the zoning setbacks and height limitations, determined as all new construction being built under a 45 degree line extending from the property line, leaving the existing structure grandfathered in place.
A deck was cantilevered, avoiding septic encumbrance, a bath and septic accommodation inserted, the existing garage doors were filled and a 125 square foot loft bedroom set under the zoning limitations – all fitting within the existing building footprint, and under 799 square foot limitation for ADU’s.
The space was restructured using microlams to redirect old and accommodate new loads, and the loft was inserted using a timber-scaled microlam structure. The existing surfaces we reinterpreted to create new windows, the deck and roof. The concrete first floors were levelled, and a food preparation area accommodated. A new stair of salvaged oak was inserted using steel cable railings.
Surfaces were durable and maximum insulation in the existing cavities makes for Energy Code compliance while reusing the embodied energy of much of the existing structure. Utilities were fed from the adjacent home. Heating and cooling is via high efficiency electric wall-mounted units: one for the main space and one for the loft.
Windows have two distinct identities: Isolated figurative units, and infill glass maximizing light in the tight. The sheltering water shedding deck creates an entry and that 129 square foot space provides a peek view across back yards to Long Island Sound.
“Traditional” and “Modern” are silly distinctions when old and new construction are married to reinvent our existing fabric, rather than remove it.
