A Brick Veil Provides Privacy with Nuance

The Filigree House is a rarity within Philadelphia’s Graduate Hospital Neighborhood. Unlike most buildings in this neighborhood it sits on a double-wide lot, which gave the design team a prominent canvas with which to contribute a bold statement to the streetscape, but with the challenge of staying within the confines of the existing neighborhood’s fabric. Making the most of the opportunity called for brick, of course!

As with any residence, privacy was a must for this 5,000-square-foot home. To provide that privacy, the Moto Designshop team created a four-layer brick screen at the front of the Filigree home. This delicately articulated screen rests on a series of curved steel support frames that artfully conceals the home’s interior.

While a solid brick wall would have delivered ultimate privacy, brick’s unmatched design flexibility was called upon to playfully engage the streetscape with a translucence that is more veil than mask, letting in natural light and hinting at the home’s interior design. The brick screen allows for selective views of ornamental features inside, including a beautiful helical staircase, and gives those within the home a chance to gaze out into the neighborhood.

Connecting the house to the rest of the neighborhood was a key goal for the design team, and brick once again provided the solution. Lending itself to both traditional and contemporary styles, brick was the obvious choice to make the structure contextually at home among historic Philadelphia row houses while still delivering a creative statement. The weightiness of the fired clay brick both feels appropriate and conveys a sense that the neighborhood’s new addition will be around for centuries to come. Still, protruding brick units accompanying the repeating pattern of open spaces in the facade while framing rounded window openings, announce to the streetscape that this is definitely something new and unique. The layout of the angled brick units leads to a continually changing interplay of light and shadow as the sun moves across the sky. At night an equally alluring light display happens as the warm light from within the house glows out through the facade’s reveals.

Originally, the developer planned to sell the property after the completion of the home, but upon seeing the design executed, decided to make it home. There is no greater testament to the beauty, style, and appeal of brick.

All photos by Halkin Mason Photography. Sketch by Moto Designshop.