Cozzens Residence

Description

When renovation started on this prominently sited Georgetown house the owner thought it needed new bathrooms. Subsequent inspection revealed that the back of the house, having been built on 60 feet (18 metres) of fill, was migrating south.

New helical steel piers, some more than 60 feet (18 metres) long, have stabilised the movement of the structure and a new steel frame gives new rigidity to the four-story back addition that dated from the early 1970s. Removing a floor created a double-height volume from which to regard one of the best views in Washington. On the exterior, teak sunshades protect the new steel and glass facade from the southern sun. Inside, a wall of books extends up three stories. The bathrooms were also renovated.