Design Thinking
DESIGN BUREAU
OPEN HOUSE 02 Four architects give us a tour of their favorite hometown projects
Roberto De Leon & David Mayo Everett House louisville, ky
Building sensibly in one of America’s most historic cities BY KATHRYN FREEMAN RATHBONE PORTRAIT BY ANDREW KUNG
The stringent architectural regulations of historic Louisville were a welcome challenge for principal Roberto de Leon and project manager David Mayo while updating one old-fashioned home. “It was like building a ship in a bottle, which is what made it so appealing,” says de Leon of the so-called Everett House. Firm De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop was brought in to design a 485-square-foot addition to the existing structure, and in order to keep it in line with the neighborhood’s traditional aesthetic, the firm developed a schematic that was “contemporary but tailored in scale to the neighborhood,” Primmer says. To maintain the established Louisville style, de Leon and Mayo used cement-board lap siding and painted it with the tried-and-true Southern color palette of hunter green and black. Inside, however, bright white walls, wood built-ins, and a multitude of windows modernize the space without looking cold or feeling too traditional.
Architecture photos by De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop; Opposite page: Roberto de Leon (right) and David Mayo designed the addition for the Everett House
Mayo summarizes the project best: “In a neighborhood [where] you can’t mimic history or be too modern, this house has become a catalyst for building sensibly.” And in an era when more is more, this pragmatic take on design is a simple breath of fresh air.
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