Butterfly Roofs Top a Buffalo City Terrace House
The modern renovation floods the old and new spaces with natural light while maintaining their 20th-century appearance.
This modern reinterpretation of a 20th-century Buffalo City terrace house made the most of the narrow site. Architect built the house instead of restoring the second floor, adding two courtyards, and building a new studio above the garage. A new butterfly roof sits over both structures, an inverted tribute to the surrounding roof pitch and a solution to the limited natural light of the cramped lot.
The location and narrow lot of the house gave it a new look. “The design focuses on bringing natural light, sky views, and ventilation into an older home while maintaining privacy”, says
architect.
Architect turned the house’s old terrace into a new main living space. A new patio just beyond the living room brings welcome light to the space and provides additional flow between indoors and outdoors.
The new and old floors in the main part of the house now blend seamlessly thanks to the black stain.
The new patio-side galley-style kitchen boasts a sleek, contemporary look with white Caesarstone counters.
Orange splashes all over the house. The owners love bold colors and have a collection of 1970s furniture with orange glass and creative orange accents.
Across from the main living space, a new studio and office sit above the home’s garage. The couple wanted a rooftop garden, but Buffalo City City Council didn’t approve it. Instead, architect
took advantage of the narrow lot height to build a new studio and communal laundry room above
the garage.
The red-orange slats on the fence around the patio convey the homeowner’s love of oranges to the outdoors.
The butterfly roofs of the studio and main building are the result of architect ‘s consideration of
their urban location. Many of the surrounding terrace homes have steep roof slopes, so architect
flipped the shape into a modern butterfly roof to bring sun and light into the house.
Architect likes the specific form of unusual steps out of the studio. The lighted steps double as
patio seating.
Cool, dark exterior colors contrast with warm orange accents. Architect opted for blue and gray
stone, paint and polished concrete to mitigate the occasional light tones.
The studio can be seen from the second-floor bedroom of the home. Clients love that the butterfly
roofs on both structures provide sun, light and sky views while providing total privacy from
neighbors and street.
The front of the house is relatively traditional except for a new color palette. Architect found the
original sandstone flag on the porch under a layer of tiles. After the tiles were removed and the
sandstone cleaned, the veranda was returned to its original condition.
The rear, with the garage facing the rear lane, has a clean, modern look. The same color palette
unites the entire house.
Nitharsana
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