April 2009 ❖ Vienna Connection

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Draza Stamenich ofMcLean is a graduateof Langley HighSchool andMarymount University, and de-signed the laundry room in thisyear’s Washington D.C. DesignHouse. The house for this year’sshow is the Rectory at St. John’sChurch located at 3238 O StreetNW. The show features the work ofover a dozen local designers. Pro-ceeds from the show house benefitthe Children’s National MedicalCenter. Arlington designer MichaelRoberson and McLean designerDraza Stamenich are both featured.The show is open through May

Small SpaceShopping for Design

10th. Visit www.DCDesignHouse.com

From www.dcdesignhouse.com:

“Growing up, I had a habit of collecting pictures outof magazines of interiors that I thought were extraordi-narily stunning, and these tear outs fostered my pas-sion for Interior Design. As I got older, I found myselfbeing associated with like-minded people and had tomake my dreams of creating beautiful spaces come tofruition.

“After completing a Visual Merchandising course atMarymount, I had the fortune of freelancing forBergdorf Goodman doing their windows, as well as forNeiman Marcus in their Visual Department. Beingluxury department stores, they impacted me in the wayof allowing the quality of my taste and creativity to beimpeccable as well as original in visual presentation.

“This evolution helped narrow my focus to interiors,and I worked for Alefantis & Associates for severalyears, which let me experience the ideas as well ascomplications that emerge during the creative processfrom beginning to end. I decided to open my own firmin 2007.”

“Growing up, I had a habit of collectingpictures out of magazines of interiorsthat I thought were extraordinarilystunning, and these tear outs fosteredmy passion for Interior Design.”

Draza Stamenich, In His Own Words

Decorative stone finials fromJohn Flocks.

Aviary Wire screen doors add to theairiness of the small space andcomplement the birds on the Graciewallpaper.

Gracie wallpaper adds a sense of openness and space to acompact laundry room.

Draza Stamenich of Draza, LLC is a graduate of Langley High School.

Photos by Louise Krafft

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Susan and KelvinPierce are a kindof “power couple.”Specifically, theyare devoted to building andremodeling homes that canbe powered at a lower cost.

Susan, a residentialarchitect, refers to her idealhouse as “virtually off thegrid.” While she acknowl-edges that complete energyindependence is elusive inan urban area like ours, shehas been a champion ofsustainable home conceptssince her student days.

Joined in her vision byhusband Kelvin, an engi-neer, the two have ab-sorbed and applied leading-edge practices for localhomeowners through theirbusiness, Commonwealth

Home Remodelers. But the reallaboratory has been the couple’spersonal residence on Old Court-house Road in Vienna.

At about 6,000 square feet, thethree-story structure presents awarm synthesis of Shingle-stylearchitecture commingled withclassic Victorian farmhouse. Withits wide porches and steeplypitched roofs ensconced undermature Siberian elm, the home isthe picture of northern Virginia’sbucolic past.

Yet beneath the nostalgic ambi-ance, one finds a carefully mea-sured system of design and infra-structure concepts that haveenabled the Pierces to more thandouble the size of the originalhouse while cutting operationalcost by more than a third.

As the house has gradually“converted” its program, theoriginal 1930’s Cape Cod has

faded into non-existence.“We remodeled in phases,”

Pierce said. “The timeline gener-ally follows what we’ve learnedabout sustainable building con-cepts since 1989 when we boughtthe house.”

The American Institute of Archi-tects (where Pierce is board certi-fied) paints the big picture asfollows: “Sustainable design isachieved through an integrateddesign and delivery process thatenhances the natural and builtenvironment by using energysensibly with a goal toward carbonneutrality, improved air and waterquality … and the creation ofenvironments, communities andbuildings that are livable, comfort-able, productive, diverse, safe andbeautiful.”

The Pierce’s original Cape Codproved to be a cozy, if drafty, firsthome that was expensive to heat

looked is the fundamental needfor a tightly-knit durable structure.This means maximum attention toconstruction practices,especiallywhere there are joints and seams,a commitment to eliminatingpotential air leaks and state-of-the-art insulation.”

“Everything from framing tech-niques to properly sizing HVACequipment is necessary to maxi-mizing a home’s energy efficiency,”Pierce said. “ We treat the houseas an organism of interconnected

systems, rather than a collection ofparts.”

In 2004, the Pierces put it all towork again by implementingPhase Two— which aimed atbetter accommodating a growingfamily, and putting evolving prin-ciples to the test.

In essence, the plan now calledfor stripping the original Cape Coddown to the footprint and creatinga new south-facing three levelblock. Again, the façade’s glazingwas designed to capture lowwinter sun, making easier toretain heat. But the architect alsocreated deeper-than-averageoverhangs to screen back summersun, and sited the new structure tobenefit from tree shade.

“If a lot of this sounds like com-mon sense, regrettably this is notsense that is being commonlyobserved in most residentialconstruction,” she said. “And thecumulative cost of these oversightsis considerable.”

Top-level craftsmanship alsocreates a windfall in potentialbenefit from comparatively low-

Demonstration Project

The Pierce home reconstruction was designed to save most of the existing old trees on the property.

The front parlor.

A collection of Cobalt glass, some oldand some new, adds a fresh accentcolor to the kitchen.

French doors on the east and west sides of thehouse add light and air through the centralhallway. The front parlor.

The dining room.

Charlie, the cat, holds court in the kitchen. The dining room.Susan and Kelvin Pierce enjoy a moment afterlunch with Charlie the cat.

and cool.In 1993, the couple added a

substantial two-level wing on theright side of the existing housethat included a home office andguest quarters. Featuring windowson three sides, the design invitesboth morning and afternoon light,

regularly reaping passive solarbenefits. Yet Pierce is quick topoint out that “whole house”building techniques have evolvedexponentially in the past decadeor so, partly because there’s abetter understanding of how ahome’s design and construction

affects its operational efficiency,and partly because comparativelylow-tech solutions are now avail-able to tighten the home’s enve-lope.

“Passive solar opportunities arealways worth exploring,” Piercesaid. “But what really gets over-

See Demonstration, Page 7

Vienna couple develops home design for greatersustainability, starting with their personal residence.

Photo by Greg Hadley

Photos by Louise Krafft

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Sold: Million-dollar Homes In February and March, 79 homes inthe area sold for $1 million.Vienna❖ 203 WINDOVER AVE NW (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 0.43

acres) in Windover Heights sold for $1,640,000 on March 30, 2009❖ 2615 POWDERMILL LN (a 4 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 0.73

acres) in Oakton Grove sold for $1,487,916 on March 11, 2009❖ 9509 FRANCIS YOUNG LN (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 2 HB Detached Home on 0.25

acres) in Francis Young Estates sold for $1,337,810 on March 03, 2009❖ 1840 MAMIE DYER LN (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 0.31

acres) in Francis Young Estates sold for $1,257,400 on Feb. 27, 2009❖ 1690 BRITTENFORD CT (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 2 HB Detached Home on 1.26

acres) in Hunter Mill Overlook sold for $1,145,000 on March 16, 2009❖ 1419 WYNHURST LN (a 4 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 2.93

acres) in Browns Mill Forest sold for $1,075,000 on March 20, 2009❖ 10203 BRITTENFORD DR (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 0.63

acres) in Hunter Mill Estates sold for $1,060,000 on March 06, 2009❖ 305 LOCUST ST SE (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 0.26 acres)

in Vienna sold for $1,050,000 on March 20, 2009❖ 401 PARK ST SE (a 4 BR, 1 FB, 0 HB Detached Home on 0.69 acres) in

Onondio sold for $1,050,000 on March 31, 2009

Oakton❖ 11103 PRINCE EDWARD CT (a 7 BR, 8 FB, 2 HB Detached Home on

1.72 acres) in Dogwood Knolls sold for $1,500,000 on Feb. 26, 2009❖ 3015 WEBER PL (a 4 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB Detached Home on 1.24 acres) in

Weber Property sold for $1,050,000 on Feb. 20, 2009

Photos by Robbie Hammer/The Connection

11103 PRINCE EDWARD CT inDogwood Knolls sold for

$1,500,000 on Feb. 26, 2009

2615 POWDERMILL LNin Oakton Grove sold for$1,487,916 on March11, 2009

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From Page 5

tech efficiencies. The tight sealallows the use of an EnergyRecovery Ventilator (ERV), whichhelps to assure a higher indoorair quality. An ERV captures thetemperatures of outgoing airredeploying it to regulate freshincoming air.

Pierce’s home’s roof trusses, forinstance, were designed to cap-ture more headroom (livingspace) at the top level. Roofingshingles have an expected life of40 years (almost twice the indus-try average). The lovely heartpine flooring in many parts ofthe home was reclaimed from a

local demolition.“Reusing serviceable materials

not only creates wonderfuleconomies, but it spares us allthe social cost of filling up land-fills. In the end, efficient thinkinghas a significant communitybenefit.” Such thinking has wonCommonwealth HomeRemodelers a string ofacknowledgements including aincluding a “Green HomeChoice” Award and favorableratings from Energy Star. Pierce,a LEED certified professional,will be lecturing on energy-efficient home design and opera-tions solutions at the ViennaCommunity Center on May 12.

A center islandin the kitchenprovidescounter andworking spacefor the cookand the family.

Demonstration Project

Photos byLouise Krafft

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