
“Pop tops,” one of the more controversial developments in many older neighborhoods, are epitomized by this two-story addition to a small, stuccoed brick cottage. “Rather than match our old house, I wanted to be honest about this. This is a new house that landed on top of an old one,” explained resident and architect James Bershoff. With studied asymmetry, the addition is twisted, and the third-story windows and skylights are placed off center and rotated to form diamonds rather than squares. Bershoff reconciled the original and the new with a uniform stucco skin, reinstallation of part of the original hipped roof, and a roof cap which recapitulates the design below.