covington townhouse
A live-work townhouse that balances public and private life through passive environmental design and thoughtful spatial organization.
Overview
Located along the riverfront in Covington, Kentucky, this project proposes a townhouse for a family of four with a live-work space for a musician. The design explores the relationship between public and private living while responding to the neighborhood's historic urban fabric, climate, and narrow residential lot typology.Situated on a 25' × 135' lot within a row of existing townhouses, the project takes advantage of southern and western solar exposure while mitigating heat gain through passive environmental strategies. The narrow site informed a vertically organized plan that maximizes daylight, ventilation, and functional separation between living and working spaces.
Design
The program is organized according to degrees of privacy. The ground floor serves as a public-facing music studio and teaching space, allowing clients to enter the home without disrupting family life. The second floor contains shared living, dining, and kitchen spaces that support both everyday use and entertaining, while the third floor provides private family spaces, including bedrooms and outdoor terraces.Environmental performance played a central role in the design. A central circulation core promotes stack ventilation by drawing air through operable openings on the front and rear façades, improving natural airflow during Covington's hot, humid summers. On the west façade, a fully glazed living space is protected by angled louvers that reduce direct solar gain while allowing diffuse daylight to illuminate the interior.
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