As one of only three private residences designed by I.M. Pei, the William L. Slayton House has had a storied history. Completed in 1960 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, the split-level house features a triple vault poured-in-place concrete roof, brick structure, and full-height glass on its north and south elevations. Though it had been updated twice in the past, the latest renovation by Bob Gurney, FAIA, is the most comprehensive. After stripping the building down to its wood framing, the project excavated a new lower level, modernized the envelope with new insulation and windows, installed high-efficiency MEP equipment, and replaced floor systems and interior finishes in line with Pei’s original intentions and materials as documented in original project drawings. “We literally, meticulously by hand, took the building apart and put it back together,” Bob says.
“The renovation was spectacular and well executed,” the jury agreed. “The house remains an iconic I.M. Pei project.”
New travertine flooring runs through the house, continues outside in the front courtyard, and forms a paver roof over the rear sub-grade addition. “The quarry in Italy dry laid every piece of travertine for the owners to review,” Bob says. “They were very much aware that they had a significant piece of architecture and saw themselves as caretakers of this property.” Along with new roofing on the triple vault, the project tied in new duct runs with the existing structure where perforated brick walls dually perform as return air grilles and ducts. “That was a nice detail and a surprise that we definitely kept in our new mechanical system,” Bob says.
At the rear edge of the property, the project added a detached two-story structure comprising an office and garage. Though it shares the Pei house’s interior material palette of travertine flooring and walnut and white lacquered millwork, the cube form wrapped in operable perforated white metal panels is decisively different tectonically. “The goal was to [create] a background piece of architecture to the Pei house,” Bob explains, which the jury praised as “smart for not detracting from the main story of the architecture and for existing quietly and respectfully on its own.” The structure provides privacy from houses across a shared alley and glows like a lantern for the outdoor terrace at dusk.
For every renovation decision and detail, Bob says the project team sought a “museum-quality level of finish.” Despite the added living space and significant performance upgrades, he continues, “the house itself did not fundamentally change that much”—which was exactly the goal.
Honor Award · Custom Period or Vernacular Renovation
Slayton House by Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect
Washington, D.C.
Project Credits
Architect: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, principal; Matt Stephens, project architect, Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect, Washington, D.C.
Builder: Ted Peterson, Peterson and Collins, Bethesda, Maryland
Interior designer: Therese Baron Gurney, Baron Gurney Interiors, Washington, D.C.
Landscape architect: Kevin Campion, Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, Annapolis, Maryland
Structural engineer: Cobb Architectural Engineers, Alexandria, Virginia
Home integration: Atlantic Control Technologies, Annapolis, Maryland
Project size: 4,754 square feet (addition: 955 square feet)
Site size: 0.16 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Anice Hoachlander
Key Products
Appliances: Pitt Cooking (cooktop); Gaggenau (vent hood, dishwasher, oven, refrigerator/freezer)
Cabinetry: Allegheny Wood Works (custom); Boffi (kitchen); Poliform (closets)
Cladding: Elemental Metals
Countertop: Dekton (kitchen)
Door hardware: FSB, Tectus, Halliday + Baillie
Faucets: Dornbracht (kitchen); Vola (bathroom, shower)
Finishes: Dekton (bathroom wall covering)
Fireplace: Ore
Flooring: Rugo Stone (travertine)
Garage Door: Clopay
Home control systems: Lutron
Lighting control systems: Lutron
Lighting, exterior: Lucifer, Luminii, Bega
Lighting, interior: Ecosense, Eklipse, Luminii, Dado Lighting, Lucent
Paint: Tnemec (exterior); Benjamin Moore (interior)
Pavers: Rugo Stone
Sinks: Create Good Sinks
Skylight: Velux
Toilets: Duravit
Towel heater: Vola
Tubs: Wetstyle
Vanity: Noorth
Window shading systems: Lutron
Windows: Livello (wood and custom arch), Western Window Systems (aluminum windows and doors)