The Modern on a Hill project is a new construction project in the City of Atlanta, designed in the Contemporary Modern style.
The initial design direction from the client was to create an L-shaped plan that creates a private courtyard for a pool area. One wing houses the most public spaces on the main level, the primary suite on the upper level, and a game room/workout room/garage below. The other wing houses two offices and a library/entertaining space on the main level, and secondary bedrooms on the upper level.
Once a basic plan had been developed, the majority of the actual design involved using a 3D model to drive the project and flesh out the details. The project form began as a contemporary monochromatic white box with some punches of colors and big expanses of glass. As the project moved forward, the circulation, which was stacked on all 3 floors, began to influence the design. What began as simple hallways, started to punch through and become visible on the outside. The circulation not only became a way to move people through the structure, but also acts as a way for light and openness to enter in and move throughout the structure as well. The central corridor became the fundamental defining design influence in the home. Large expanses of glass at the front and rear of the home, are combined with skylights above to create a light corridor. It connects all of the spaces inside, while acting as a conduit for light and air from the outside. At night, the central corridor will be full of light, the two darker forms of the building being both connected and pushed apart by light. The central corridor slices through the home, both separating the two wings, while tying them together at the same time.
The large accordion doors on the pool side of the corridor provide the open great room/breakfast nook/kitchen space to be completely opened up to the outside, dissolving the barrier between inside and outside.
The stacked stairs connecting all three floors created another opportunity for circulation to influence the modern architecture of the building. At this location, the large expanse of light on the right side of the home, combines with the skylights above to bathe both set of stairs in light, and further piercing the structure from both the inside and outside.
Large sections of the monochromatic, L-shaped design have been pushed and pulled to create voids or additions to the overall form. Some of these voids have created large cantilevers to provide shade, while others have created visual entry points into the home.
The home is built partially into the hill, minimizing grading, and retaining as many trees as possible. Though surrounded, and protected by trees, the siting still allows for expansive views from the home, which is located at the top of a large hill.
Year: 2022
Style: Contemporary Modern New Construction
Location: City of Atlanta, Georgia.
Stats: 5 Bedrooms, 6-1/2 Baths, 5,747 heated square feet