Shaw Townsend Residence

Confronted by the choice of either leaving a city neighborhood in search of more space in the suburbs or adding onto their existing residence, the clients chose to build. Transplanted to Pittsburgh from California a few years earlier, they hoped to capture the site’s natural light, breezes and panoramic views while creating a varied and dramatic sequence of interior and exterior spaces to suit their active and informal lifestyles.

Using a combination of physical and computer models, a design was developed which features a master bedroom suite under an inverted gable, and a cantilevered steel stair connecting the Family and Play rooms.

photography by Karl Backus