The rowhouse among its neighbors: a charcoal bay over a wood garage door, a white pilot house above

Ellsworth Street Rowhouse

Passyunk Square, Philadelphia · Completed

A two-story South Philadelphia rowhouse transformed into a four-story home, with a rooftop lounge and deck overlooking the city.

Location: Passyunk Square, Philadelphia
Status: Completed
Project: Rowhouse, Renovation, Addition, Roof deck, Zoning approval
Our role: Architect — design, zoning and permit drawings

The front: charcoal bay windows on two floors over the garage door and entry — A charcoal bay window ties the two floors above the garage into one shape.

What we worked through

The house was two stories with a two-car garage, on a lot smaller than today’s zoning minimum. The owners wanted more living space and somewhere to spend time outdoors, and the garage had to stay.

Building upward made room for both. Behind the garage and the party walls the house is new, with the rooms lined up along the old brick party wall.

One stair runs up the middle of the house to a partial fourth floor that opens onto the roof deck.

The partial fourth floor required an additional review by the Zoning Board and was approved as a minor change to the zoning plan.

The living room: the brick party wall and a linear fireplace, the stair and kitchen behind — The brick party wall left bare along the living room, the stair and kitchen beyond.

The kitchen: a long veined-stone island beside the open stair — The kitchen sits beside the open stair.

The oak stair under a skylight — The oak stair climbs under a skylight.

The top-floor lounge and wet bar, opening to the roof deck — At the top, a lounge with a wet bar opens onto the deck.

From the pilot house: the deck and the Center City skyline — The roof deck faces the Center City skyline.

The roof deck and the pilot house’s glass doors — The stair house opens onto the roof deck.

The roof deck with a hot tub, the city beyond the railing

The view from the roof over the rowhouse blocks to the Center City skyline — The view from the roof to Center City.

From above: the house’s rear, its yard and the roof deck within the block — From above: the deck and the yard within the block.

The rear yard: glass doors, white siding and a cedar fence — At the back, glass doors open to a small yard.

The rear wall: white ribbed siding and tall windows — The back of the house in white board-and-batten.

Project facts

Stories: Four, the top one a partial floor opening onto the roof deck
Retained: The garage at the street and the party walls
Zoning: Fourth floor approved by the Zoning Board as a minor change
Built: 2022

Services behind this project

Related work

Rear kitchen opening to the yard through French doors

Gordon Street Rowhouse

River Wards, Philadelphia · Completed

The new rowhouse with a blue door, gray brick and metal-clad bays, between neighboring fronts on a South Philadelphia block

Dudley Street Rowhouse

South Philadelphia · Completed

The brick front of the three-story house over a basement, with an arched doorway, kept as it was

Pine Street Conversion

Center City, Philadelphia · Completed

All projects

Next step

Have a project like this in mind?

A few lines about the property and what you have in mind are enough to start.

Start a project Send a message or call (215) 259-8332