Historic Zoning Commission
Fourth and Gill H: Level III
2-B-21-HZ
Staff Recommendation
Due to the unique nature of this project, staff recommends the Commission review the design in the order presented above: beginning with a discussion of the design as a transitional element of the historic overlay; the design's compatibility with the immediate blocks and broader neighborhood context; the placement, alignment, and general massing of the house; and the new materials and design elements to be introduced. Instead of isolating smaller details to modify as conditions of approval in the review (which could result in an unnecessary focus on minute items or a watered-down approach to the design), staff will lead the Commission in a review beginning with broad elements and narrowing down to features and materials.
Location Knoxville
0 Morgan St. 37917
OwnerBrandon and Ashley Brandon and Ashley Pace - Sanders Pace Architecture Sanders Pace Architecture
Applicant Request
Other: New primary buildingNew primary residence on a double lot fronting Morgan Street. One-story residence with a flat roof, comprised of two primary horizontal massings connected by an inset hyphen. A flat-roof secondary structure (accessory dwelling unit) is located on the rear right (west) corner of the property. Project also includes a swimming pool on the rear left (south) corner of the property. A new curb cut will be made along Morgan Street to accommodate a new concrete driveway on the left side of the property and an attached porte cochere.
The house is proposed to be set 10' from the front property line, 12'-5.5" from the left interior property line, and 6' from the right interior property line. The secondary structure on the rear of the property is located 11'-6.5" from the rear property line. As currently proposed, the building is within its 35% allowable building coverage and the 45% allowable surface coverage of the RN-4 zoning.
The façade (northeast) features one rectangular massing, extending 65'-4" wide, with a 15'-6" wide carport on the left side, measuring 12'-8" tall to the top of the roof. A second horizontal massing is recessed 26' behind the front façade line and measures 18'-8" tall to the top of the roof.
Overall, the primary materials include painted metal roof coping, modular brick masonry veneer siding, aluminum-clad wood windows, painted steel lintels and a steel-framed porte cochere, and painted nickelgap polyash siding as a secondary siding on the façade.
The façade features a painted steel-framed porte cochere, extending above a concrete parking surface and leading to an aluminum-clad wood sliding door system on the recessed massing. The next bay is a porch, measuring 16' wide by 9' deep, fully recessed under the primary massing. The entry is located on the porch, featuring a stained wood pivot door with a single-light sidelight, accessible by a stained wood step. Four bays of aluminum-clad wood windows with operable sashes follow. A painted steel lintel extends the length of the porch, doors, and windows, which are surrounded by painted nickelgap polyash siding.
The left side elevation features the narrow sides of the two primary rectangular massings and the secondary structure, which are connected by a covered wood deck and the hyphen. An 8' tall by 3' wide aluminum clad wood window is located on the side elevation of the secondary building and the center massing. The porte cochere is screened on the left side by a stained wood screen.
On the right side elevation, the secondary structure/ADU is accessible by a painted steel garage door. On each side of the hyphen are aluminum-clad wood sliding door systems.
The rear elevation features full-length aluminum-clad wood window systems and sliding doors surrounded by painted nickelgap polyash siding topped by a painted steel brick lintel.
The project also includes a brick clad outdoor fireplace, wood decking surrounding the pool and on each side elevation, and stained wood fencing. A new concrete driveway accommodating two parking spaces is proposed for the leftmost side of the property.
Staff Comments
Vacant lotExisting vacant double lot, measuring 100' wide by 107' deep. 1903 and 1917 Sanborn Fire Insurance maps show lot reflecting its present-day current configuration, featuring a brick masonry multi-family structure.
Infill Buildings
There are vacant lots on many of the streets in the Fourth and Gill Historic District. They cause a gap in the streetscape, and should be redeveloped with new buildings that are sympathetic to the historic design of buildings in the neighborhood. New buildings should be contemporary in spirit. They should not be imitations of buildings of the past; rather they should respond to the present time, the environment, and the use for which they are intended.
New buildings constructed in historic areas should, however, be compatible with older structures and sensitive to the patterns already in their environment. The materials that cover its exterior surface largely determine the appearance of a building. Similar materials develop a certain continuity and character. A building should not be visually incompatible or destroy historic relationships within the neighborhood. At the same time, new construction should not imitate historic style or period of architecture. This is also true for freestanding garages, sheds, and other outbuildings.
Width of Houses and Lots
1. Maintain the historic facade lines of streetscapes by locating the front walls of new buildings in the same plane as the facades of adjacent buildings. A new building should continue and reinforce the alignment established by its neighbors. Never violate the existing setback pattern by placing new buildings in front of or behind the historic facade line.
2. Avoid placing buildings at odd angles to the street.
Scale and Massing: the houses in the Fourth and Gill Historic District have a shape, or bulk, consistent with their time of construction. They appear larger than new buildings, with set back or projecting bays not found on many new buildings. The appearance this lends to the neighborhood is an important design attribute.
1. Relate the size and proportions of new structures to the scale of adjacent buildings.
2. Break up uninteresting boxlike forms into smaller, varied masses like those of most buildings from the historic period. Variety of form and massing are essential to the character of the streetscape.
3. New buildings should be designed with a mix of wall areas with door and window elements in the facade like those found on the neighborhood's historic houses. Also consider the width-to-height ratio of bays in the facade. The placement of openings with respect to the facade's overall composition, symmetry, or balanced asymmetry should be carefully imitated.
4. Relate the vertical, horizontal, or nondirectional facade character of new buildings to the predominant directional alignment of nearby buildings. A new building should continue and reinforce the alignment established by its neighbors. NOTE: Alignment is basically the arrangement of objects in a straight line. The horizontal alignment of building elements such as porches, roofs, windows, etc., is one of the most effective ways of creating and maintaining a sense of relationship, a sense of connection and unity among the elements of a street.
5. Relate the roof forms of the new buildings to those found in the area. Duplication of the existing or traditional roof shapes, pitches, and materials on new construction is one way of making new structures more visually compatible
Height of Foundations and Stories:
1. As a general rule, construct new buildings to equal the average height of existing buildings on the street.
2. Raised foundations, or the appearance of raised foundations, must be designed for any new housing constructed in Fourth and Gill. The height of the foundation should replicate those of adjoining buildings.
3. If building new structures, the eave lines should conform to those of adjacent properties. Divisions between stories should either be omitted, or should mimic neighborhood buildings.
Materials:
1. The materials used for new buildings should be consistent with existing historic building materials along the street.
Features: Historic houses have significant features that contribute to their appearance as well as the overall appearance of the district. It is important that those features be interpreted and included in any new housing designed for the neighborhood.
1. Always design front facades with a strong sense of entry. Strongly emphasized side entries, or entries not defined by a porch or similar transitional element, result in an incompatible flat first-floor facade.
2. Avoid replicating or imitating the styles, motifs, or details of older periods. Such attempts can present a confusing picture of the true character of the historical area.
Roofs:
1. The shape and pitch of roofs on new construction should imitate the shape and pitch of roofs on neighboring existing houses or other houses of the same architectural style.
2. The eaves on additions or new buildings should have an overhang that mimics the original eave, or where this is not feasible, mimics the existing buildings near the property. A minimum eave overhang of at least eight inches should be used on new construction. Fascia boards should be included on the gables.
3. Repair or replace roof details (chimneys, roof cresting, finials, attic vent windows, molding, and other unique roof features). Use some of these details in designing new buildings.
4. Materials used in roofing existing buildings or new construction should duplicate the original roofing materials if possible. Asphalt or fiberglass shingles can be appropriate, as are slate, standing seam metal or metal shingle roof coverings.
Porches:
3. New front porches in Fourth and Gill must be large enough to provide seating, i.e., six to eight feet in depth.
4. In new construction, the proportion of the porches to the front facades should be consistent with the historic porches in the neighborhood. Details such as columns, posts, piers, balustrades and porch flooring must use materials that present a visually and physically appropriate appearance historically.
Entrances: see above section of Infill Buildings.
Wall Coverings:
3. New construction should use wood materials rather that aluminum or vinyl siding. New buildings should also use corner and trim boards and appropriate door and window trim. Concrete composition planks may be appropriate for new construction.
12. Siding or pressboard or particle board, and vertical siding (including T-111) is not appropriate for primary structures in the Fourth & Gill Historic District and should not be used.
Driveways and paving: New curb cuts and parking lots should be kept to a minimum. The addition of curb cuts results in removing historic sidewalks, curbs or retaining walls. Access through alleys is preferable to adding curb cuts, or allowing front yard parking.
SOI Standards for Rehabilitation
9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
