Modern Addition with Covered Deck

REAR ADDITION & interior rennovation / Chicago, Illinois

This vintage three-story wood house is small, and our clients asked us for additional living space, a solution to the building code requirement for a second exit from the third floor and a better relationship between the house and the rear yard. Based on a shared enthusiasm for a modern and minimalist solution, we explored ways to integrate a modern but carefully crafted “modern box” addition.   This bold approach completely changes the character of the rear yard.

In the first option, a roofed exterior stairway is knit into the addition. In the second option, a residential sprinkler system is incorporated eliminating the need for a second exit and allowing the addition to have more living space (the family room on the first floor has large windows for great views of the rear yard). In both options FDA used the massing of the addition to create an outdoor room/covered deck with a sense of privacy and protection from the southern sun while maintaining views of and access to nature/the rear yard.