Badger Hill Farm in Marshall, VA

2016 PALLADIO AWARDS
Adaptive Reuse/Addition
Winner: Neumann Lewis Buchanan Architects

KEY PRODUCTS, MATERIALS & SUPPLIERS
Foundation Stone: Local fieldstone
Brick: Old Carolina Brick Company, mix of 3 brick colors
Roof: Copper
Siding & Trim: Custom profiles, painted clear Western red cedar siding and painted clear Honduran mahogany trim
Columns: Melton Classics,
Western red cedar
Windows: Marvin double hung weight and chain Signature Series wood windows in the main block. Marvin double hung and casement Ultimate Series wood windows in clapboard addition, existing cottage replacement windows and garage. Honduran mahogany
Exterior and Interior Doors, Transoms and Sidelight: HeartWood Windows and Doors, Honduran mahogany exterior
Shutters: Timberlane Woodcrafters, Western red cedar
Floors: Baba Antique Wooden Floors, reclaimed oak from North Carolina tobacco barns
Interior Wood Trim and Library Paneling and Mantelpiece: Hardwood Interiors Inc.,
Oakland, Maryland
Kitchen Cabinets: Jennifer Gilmore Kitchens
Door Hardware: Baldwin,
non-lacquered brass

Neumann Lewis Buchanan Architects’ 2016 Palladio Award-winning project addressed an existing cottage on the edge of Badger Hill Farm, a 140-acre horse farm near Upperville, Virginia. In an effort to avoid demolishing the perfectly sound structure, they worked to wed it with a new classic Virginia farmhouse. The resulting design makes the pre-existing cottage appear like a later addition to the newly built two-story brick main block, which fronts the old cottage to the south.

Adopting the existing cottage’s 1,900-square-foot floor plan for the new architectural program, which features an additional 4,700 square feet, proved to be the most challenging aspect of the project, as the overall mass was in jeopardy of appearing dark and bulky. The solution, in large part, was to strike a balance by making the new white-clapboard kitchen wing a near-twin of the existing cottage. Additionally, the old cottage had very small spaces with ceiling heights of less than eight feet. The new program called for primary rooms to be more spacious with 11-foot ceilings and classical detailing.

It is interesting to note that the Doric order of the new entry portico establishes the proportional rules used throughout the exterior and interior detailing, though the architect remarks that the mutule blocks typically found in the cornice of a Doric portico are instead found inside the cornice of the wood paneled library—a detail that both “breaks the rules” of the order while respecting its requirements.

Location wise, the team respected the property’s woodland setting, with its oak and hickory trees and a western view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. By conserving open space and using reclaimed materials—such as heart pine from a recently demolished nut and bolt manufacturing facility—they further the legacy of Badger Hill as an equestrian farm tied to its landscape. In fact, a newly renovated and expanded 16-stall horse stable, plus a new indoor training/exercise ring, outdoor arena, and equipment barn expand the farmstead to address the client’s contemporary needs.

The house proper now comprises 6,600 square feet of living space—the whole of which appears as if it has been there for more than 200 years. Occupying one quarter of the old cottage, the light-filled central staircase, crowned with a glass roof structure and ascending to both second floor levels, ties the old with the new. Furthermore, the architectural style of the Virginia Piedmont contributes to the new classic farmhouse’s southern character and charm.