The Stannary

Building Architecture- Small Scale (<10,000 sf)

Project Narrative

The Stannary is a four-story, three-unit urban infill in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. The owners live in the third and fourth floor penthouse unit, accessible by elevator for aging in place, while the remaining two lower floors are apartments. The site strategy was based on maintaining maximum street frontage on the West facing Race Street principal facade and East facing Alley garage, while slimming the plan in between to create courtyards and glazed walls to the South and North of the building to let in natural light. All units have direct access to exterior space and terraces, and the 4th floor penthouse has a generous terrace overlooking Race street with a large, retractable glass wall opening to the kitchen and living area. There is another terrace facing East that is also accessible from the penthouse living area.

The entire project was subject to intense scrutiny and multiple reviews by the historic review board. The design embraces the role of a background building in a historic urban context, while still addressing contemporary notions of space, material, and detail. This is achieved in part through a studied exaggeration and abstraction of key requirements of the historic guidelines, particularly at window openings and the cornice treatment. The project has achieved LEED Gold certification.