Editor’s Note: A version of this story was published in the Fall 2024 issue of Extant, a publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Birch Knoll: The 1949 International Style house designed by Philadelphia architect George Daub and restored in 2023 by k YODER design carefully obscures its six levels. | Photo: Jeffery Totaro
Designed in the International Style by Philadelphia architect George Daub in collaboration with Albert Clauss, Birch Knoll was built for the president of Newtown Square’s Aronimink Golf Club in 1949. The glass, steel, stone, and wood structure fell into disrepair after a 2011 renovation, and new owners sought to restore the midcentury modern aesthetic. Kevin Yoder of k YODER design spoke with Extant magazine about the firm’s work with Baroni Building Company on the restoration, which earned a Grand Jury Award at the 2024 Preservation Achievement Awards.
Extant Magazine (EM): What attracted you to this particular project?
Kevin Yoder (KY): The pedigree and International Style design of the home attracted us, along with the clients’ strong desire to save the house from foreclosure and willingness to “do the right thing” with preservation. The client reached out to k YODER design because of our experience restoring midcentury modern homes.
The restoration architects paid particular attention to Daub’s original entry, emphasizing the connection to interior and exterior spaces. | Photo: Jeffery Totaro
EM: What was most important to preserve?
KY: The character-defining design elements were most important to preserve–particularly the original entry stair, with its triangular plan shape, whose form created a dynamic relationship to the original stone wall and central circulation. Despite its horizontal and low-slung appearance, the house’s form is actually quite complex when you realize it’s a split-level design with six levels. It was important to preserve the architectural integrity of the house in general and the rigor and complexity of the precise vertical window alignments because they provide visual unity.
EM: What was the client’s original vision? Did it change over time?
KY: The clients were inspired by houses of Frank Lloyd Wright and interested in creating better indoor-outdoor connections. This motivated us to add sliding walls and doors where previously single- hinged doors or no access existed and to create larger windows where possible. The clients also wanted to reestablish cohesion of finishes and restore original elements. This evolved early in the design process to continue the stone on the interior anywhere it appears on the exterior, such as at fireplaces and chimneys.
The entry stair was among the character-defining elements of the house that k YODER design preserved in the renovation. | Photo: Jeffery Totaro
EM: What was the biggest preservation challenge?
KY: Overall, returning the home to its original residential feel, with a natural wood siding finish, was a big challenge because the exterior envelope was so deteriorated. It had been painted over, so it looked like a school or commercial building, and the bulky replacement windows lacked the refinement or slim profiles of the originals. We had to balance the need to adjust and increase the thickness of the exterior skin for the Ipe rainscreen (hardwood cladding) and proper window installation detailing, while maintaining all the complete vertical window alignments and details. We reconciled the fenestration types and maintained the size and pattern of the original window divisions, which originally were double-hung operable window divisions. We considered adding horizontal divisions to match the original look, but chose to be more honest in using single-plane casements where double-hung ones originally existed.
EM: Did you look to any role model for inspiration or example?
KY: Because we did not have the original drawings as a reference, and we only had a few original photos at the project onset, we looked to other residential projects by George Daub and other modernists such as Neutra and Gropius. K YODER design has been fortunate to work on many mid-century modern houses, so we’re familiar with design detailing, material choices, and local resources.
