John’s Island, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
2024 -
2900 ft2 / 270 m2
A very different sort of challenge, this home is located in an exurban neo-agrarian community on the fast-growing fringes of Charleston. The design proposal seeks to reconcile the characteristic and much-loved qualities of the traditional architecture of the region -- broad, generous porches, a simple horizontal roofline, and an embrace of nature through the use of private courtyards -- with more contemporary prerogatives, such as elevating the home to protect against flooding, and providing open, bright and generously-proportioned interior spaces.
The interior spaces are characterized by a simple material palette, a controlled use of daylight and view, and a plan diagram with the courtyard at the center, separating the public spaces from the primary bedroom suite. Opposite the courtyard is a patio at ground level and an elevated porch above, offering shade, views, control of rainwater, and a wide variety of social spaces for different types of weather.
designers: Adam Sokol, AIA, principal; Shaina Yang, project architect; Beatriz Vazquez, designer
collaborators: Remark (landscape architect), Empire Engineering (structural engineer)