Abstract

This has been a most challenging (and satisfying) personal project.

I’ve done a whole lot of this kind of worthwhile thing over the years.
As did ours, many of these homes come back on the market after a
number of years, some having had a number of owners, needing a
some careful renewing that preserves the custom-built feeling. JG

Alterations and Additions have long been an important part of my practice.

While I’ve done many all new home projects (starting from the ground up),

taking an existing home and improving it is very satisfying. Our own home

originally designed by UW Architecture classmate Hawley Dudley on the

South end of Mercer Island is a case in point. This was a “tear-down”

which we saved from the demolition crews. We’ve completely rebuilt it as

well as restored the half acre garden. The picture below shows our Living

Room with what we added- Extension B. (noted on the Floor Plan below).

These pictures show the “stopped-in” glass windows mentioned above.

There’s no need to pay for complicated manufactured windows when local

glass dealers can install efficient insulated glass units in our wd.-stopped

job-built window opening to our sizes- not the window manufacture’s. See

my Stopped-in Window Detail at the bottom of the page to see how I do

these rather unique fenestrations that result in the inside-outside feelings

which are one of the nice features of my NorthWest contemporary homes..

the Master Bedroom with Extension A looking out into a private garden.

P&J Floor Plan now (Click to enlarge)

1955- Just completed, then (below) 2005- house and garden mostly redone after 8 owners.

2002, the Mercer Island Reporter wrote up our redone home- describing it as:

Decorative Railing by son Steve Gropp Salamander Forge, Orcas Island, Washington

Click here: Salamander Forge, Inc Home – Exquisite metal and wood artwork

While I had extensive early experience in a number of big offices doing large projects, I found I preferred working with families doing single-family custom homes. That’s why I specialize in modernist residential architecture out in the far NorthWest corner of the United States. I’ve long been based on Mercer Island which is in Lake Washington just East of Seattle and West of Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah and Renton. Having done many projects over the years on this unique island city of 22,000 citizens in the middle of Seattle’s three million metropolis, I’ve become highly experienced in dealing with the City of Mercer Island’s rather stringent building requirements. This is an extremely important consideration in choosing an architect to help you in any building or home remodeling on Mercer Island- or anywhere else. And “Green Building” techniques have long been an important part of my practice. My varied experience specializing in custom home design for individual clients makes me especially effective in helping you achieve the home you and your family need. My well-detailed homes are truly “Craftsman” in spirit- using the best of old ways with all the new tools available to build an efficient “modernist” home. I’m a “hands-on” architect having spent much time in the field as well as at my drawing board. It’s essential that any residential designer know how to do any of the jobs that it takes to build creations that he/she designs. .

Jerry Gropp Architect AIA

7620 SE 72nd Street, Mercer Island,

WA 98040

(O)(206)612-7367

JGropp2@AOL.com