Massing & Orientation

To prevent the new 3-car garage from overwhelming the existing home, the addition was designed as a side-entry garage. By orienting the narrowest elevation toward the street, the visual bulk is significantly mitigated. To complement this layout, a spacious new driveway was proposed to ensure comfortable maneuvering and parking. To harmonize with the existing architecture, matching gable rooflines were introduced on both the front and rear facades.

Interior Flow & Spatial Problem-Solving

A connecting volume, detailed with subtle setbacks, bridges the new garage and the existing house. This articulation creates a clean visual break in the exterior elevation. Internally, this connector was opened up to expand the footprint of the existing main-floor playroom. Additionally, the low-clearance space beneath the stairs was converted into enclosed storage. This structural update allowed for the removal of an intrusive central post, resulting in a highly functional, clear L-shaped playroom.

Section & Elevation Strategies

Per the client's request, the space above the garage was utilized as an easily accessible attic storage area, seamlessly matching the existing upper-floor elevation. However, accommodating this upper-level connection presented a challenge below: the existing main floor's ceiling was too low to provide adequate headroom for standard garage doors. To resolve this, the site's natural slope was utilized to drop the garage's finished floor elevation by two steps, achieving the proper ceiling height.

Finally, to break up the expansive side elevation of the garage, a reverse gable was introduced to the roofline. The garage door layout was carefully considered to balance this facade further: rather than using three identical single doors, a combination of one single and one double door aligns harmoniously with the reverse gable. Ultimately, these interventions transform a potentially massive and static block into a dynamic, well-proportioned exterior.