Crab Creek House / Robert Gurney Architect, United States

Architect: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect
Location: Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Project Architect: Brian Tuskey, Associate AIA
Engineer: D. Anthony Beale LLC
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Hoachlander Davis Photography

This house, located in Annapolis, Maryland, is built on the foundation of a 1960s post and beam modern house. The foundation was kept in an effort to retain it's proximity to Crab Creek, an estuary that feeds the Chesapeake Bay.

Strict environmental regulations prohibited enlarging the pre-existing footprint or adding significant square footage to the house. The house is organized around a linear bar, clad in white stucco.

From this central spine, additional spaces are articulated as independent volumes, projecting vertically and clad in either wood or metal siding. The spaces are also organized around a swimming pool and views toward Crab Creek. A continuous wall of glass and covered porch heightens the interaction between inside and outside.

The primary spaces in the house are oriented toward the water views, have high ceilings and are light filled.

Materials used throughout the interior include white oak flooring and millwork, black slate, white marble, rusted steel and translucent glass. Additional materials used on the exterior include field stone, board-formed concrete, bluestone and ground-faced block.