Zenergy Efficient (continued)
Photo: Erik Johnson
In addition to the open living-dining-kitchen area, there's a second living space on the ground floor and a guest bedroom; upstairs are two more bedrooms and a sunroom with open-air terraces on either side. Pasquina approached the apportioning of these rooms intuitively. "My house is a collage of different spaces. I carved up the house not according to square feet but by atmosphere," she says. The sunroom, suggests Pasquina, is designed for after-work martinis. Cocktails are served on a glasstopped table with a base made of salvaged bricks from the chimney of the original house.
The new house covers nearly 4,000 square feet, but the spaces aren't especially large—though so much natural light makes them feel roomier. "The bedrooms are a normal size. I didn't want a Versaillessize master suite," says the architect. And the rooms are decidedly spare: The dominant tones and textures come from the industrial materials and finishes: bare concrete walls, waxed concrete floors, exposed ducts, lighting tracks and steel bracing. "I like the industrial look of concrete. The big, solid walls in the bedroom give you a sense of security and strength; it makes you feel good," says Pasquina. "They also give the texture of Italy," she adds.
The furnishings are minimal—and unmistakably Italian. Much of the furniture arrived with Pasquina when she moved to Washington ten years ago. Other pieces she's brought back on subsequent trips home, including the vintage red plastic Kartell chairs surrounding the sunroom table. The coffee table in one of the living areas downstairs is partly recycled: A new sheet of Plexiglas sits atop the metal Bo Concept base.
Designing one's own home is difficult for any busy architect. For Pasquina, it was slightly more so: She also acted as general contractor, thinking it the only way to ensure that her family's thoroughly modern home would be well constructed. The payoff, in many shades of green, has been worth it. "From our bed I can see the trunk of a beautiful tree outside," says Pasquina. "I can stare out the window for hours and feel like I'm in the middle of nature."
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