Newport House

Newport House:

House Museum Proposal

Location: 17 Broadway, Newport, RI

Project: Adaptive Re-Use of 1697 Newport House

The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House was built in 1697 and is widely considered the oldest house in Newport, Rhode Island. It is a truly vernacular house, with each modification based upon the background of the owner, the needs of his family, the simplicity of a Quaker dominated town, and the formal architectural influences of a commercial and cosmopolitan city like Newport. This project focused on creating a museum that would function as a gallery open to visitors as well as a supporting structure to house various amenities. Part of the design comes from the idea of essentially not touching the historic building while allowing visitors to walk its interiors. Best described as “the guts”, this glass structure encasing the interior of the house protrudes at different openings, such as the original windows, to bring the visitors to important viewpoints of the city of Newport as well as the additional supporting structure.