Caroline Street Residence
Saint Louis, MO — Space
A fresh perspective to renovate a historic single story brick home.
The beauty of the authentic and the joy of building upon it.
Living with Light
There is a particular quality of light in St. Louis’s old brick houses. It is warm, filtered, and intimate in a way that newer construction rarely captures. From the beginning, Caroline Street was about holding onto that feeling while imagining what it could become. The intention was not to create something that reads as an addition, but for the house to feel whole. The original structure and the new work are meant to exist in conversation, each shaping the experience of the other.
Comfort and authenticity guided every decision. The spaces are designed to feel generous without needing to be large, and to maintain a constant connection to the outside. Light moves through the house in a deliberate way, reinforcing a sense of calm and continuity from room to room.
Vertical Expansion
The existing house presented both a problem and an opportunity. Two additions from the 1980s and 90s had disrupted the clarity of the original plan, which was organized as three equal spaces arranged along a simple axis. The first step was to remove those layers and restore that underlying order.
With the footprint held in place, the project turns upward. The same rhythm that defines the plan extends into the second level, where new volumes rise directly from the three spaces below. The addition reinforces the original structure rather than competing with it. Between these volumes, space is carved out for light and air, creating moments of openness that anchor the project and allow the house to breathe.