Project: Ocotea House Renovation
Architects: in situ studio
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Area: 3,485 sf
Photographs by: Keith Isaacs
Ocotea House Renovation by in situ studio
The Ocotea House Renovation project is a stunning mid-century modern revival of an already decent 1960’s low-sloped dwelling. The renovation was undertaken by in situ studio and it is located in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina. The modernized residence has almost 3,500 square feet of living spaces to offer, along with some beautifully landscaped outdoor areas.
The existing house on Ocotea was a well-loved, 1960’s, low-sloped ranch with a full basement visible from the left side. Over the years, what was originally a clean image of mid-century residential architecture had fallen into disarray – the basement had been haphazardly chopped up to accommodate additional bedrooms, the main floor and public spaces had been reconfigured in an odd way, and a very poorly built sunroom had been added to the right side. Our first effort was to remove this debris and uncover the original form.
The major changes we designed for the house include a new carport on the right side that replaces the sunroom and extends the line of the roof, new front decks that introduce a floating, thin aesthetic to the formerly heavy front facade, a new kitchen and master suite, new stairs that connect the main spaces upstairs to a new, open family room in the basement, new utility systems, and completely new finishes inside and out. The house now sits comfortably in its mid-century neighborhood, a stark alternative to the method of buy, bulldoze, buildout that currently plagues Raleigh’s first-ring suburbs.
