Project : Architecture

Valentine Houses

Cambridge, MA | 2003
[BSA/AIA NY Housing Design Award 2004, BSA Honor Award 2003, Dwell Magazine Feature, Oct 2009 ]

The three new townhouses reinterpret Cambridgeport’s traditional wood-frame type, actively negotiating the thresholds between interior and exterior, private life and community. As a critique of the inward-looking “winterized box,” the project introduces double-height indoor/outdoor spaces, cantilevered garden balconies, and occupiable shared roof planes—elements that form an architectural language for future urban development.

Zoning constraints are transformed into opportunities for design innovation.

Window types mediate interior and exterior, with window walls framing direct views, blank walls supporting projections, and high apertures tracking daylight.
Living and dining areas are combined to create a larger, more flexible shared space.
Highly permeable sideyards mitigate runoff to adjacent sites
A light and air “snorkel” introduces stack ventilation and daylight into the middle townhouse.
The townhouses’ compact footprint is balanced by generous, double-height spaces filled with natural light.

Architect
John Hong AIA (principal in charge), Andy Hong, Jinhee Park AIA, Erik Carlson, Min Yang AIA

Structural Engineer
Sarkis Zerounian & Associates

Construction
Azzam Development and Design

Custom Fabrication
Jake Forster, Letterbox Productions

Landscape
Boston Landscape Company

Photography
Erik Gould Photography

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