The award-winning residential architecture of Washington, D.C.-based Hugh Newell Jacobsen has the distinction of appealing to both the proponents of tradition and those who prefer progressiveness. Since the 1970s, his compositions have consistently taken the form of a cluster of function-specific, intimately scaled buildings, combining the familiar symmetry and gabled roofs of early American architecture with Modern architecture’s unornamented façades, open-plan interiors and emphasis on indoor-outdoor living. Often clad in white-painted wood, the pleasingly simple forms of his houses, says Jacobsen, always strive to show respect for the design and construction traditions of their site: “It’s very important to me for a house to fit in and not shout at its neighbors.”

While he and his office of 10 have designed a multitude of high-profile commercial and civic buildings, including 2005’s 34,000-square-foot addition to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, and are recognized for their sensitive renovations of the United States Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution, private houses are Jacobsen’s primary concern. To date he has realized more than 400, including residences for Meryl Streep and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. With a monograph on his recent work due out this year, Jacobsen has his eye on what’s next: “I like to think I’m still learning.”

Hugh Newell Jacobsen

202-337-5200

www.hughjacobsenom