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Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Project size: 4,180 square feet

Program: Morgan Creek is the renovation of the Modernist childhood home of musician James Taylor, originally designed by George Matsumoto and finished by two other architects after Matsumoto and the Taylors parted ways mid-project. The current clients, New York-based art collectors and enthusiasts of mid-century architecture with family ties to North Carolina, wanted to rediscover George Matsumoto’s original vision for the main house as well as rebuild and expand the crumbling adjacent guesthouse for long-term guests and resident artists. The expansion includes the design of a new pool and pool house as an entertainment space for a large extended family that includes 32 nieces and nephews.

Design Solution: The historically significant 20-acre property had been neglected for more than a decade, so the project also involved updating building systems, refreshing finishes, opening under-lit spaces to the site, resolving sources of significant water damage, and shaping a new landscape to unify the new domestic complex. The recovered property is stable and reclad in durable, easy to maintain materials, with an efficient modern building envelope and systems. Most importantly, it has been saved from demolition and redevelopment.

Photo © Estudio Palma

A primary feature of the project is a native landscape that unifies the domestic complex, deals with significant run-off challenges of the sloped site and split-level architecture, and offers a backdrop view to every interior space. This landscape is a significant improvement over the existing neglected condition, which was rife with invasive species, difficult to maintain, and had devolved into a water management nightmare. The new landscape highlights existing specimen trees and interweaves new native plant communities that reflect the common palette and colors of the Piedmont, the central region of North Carolina between the mountains and the coast.

Structure and Materials: Materials for the renovated and new buildings are local, simple, durable, and appropriate to the Piedmont setting. These include stone, Atlantic White Cedar siding, steel panels, and concrete. Many of these materials are echoed inside the house, eroding the boundary between the interior and exterior. The new membrane roof is white to reflect solar energy, and storm water is de-concentrated and absorbed across the site via dispersed perforated drain tiles. The revamped building envelope is efficient, including the use of spray polyurethane foam insulation, and protected by updated vapor barrier technologies. Electrical infrastructure is in place for future photovoltaics.

Additional Information
Completion date: February 2021
Site size: 24.6 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Withheld

Photos © Estudio Palma

Images courtesy In Situ Studio; click to enlarge