A new bedroom wing and an opened-up entertaining area are among the modifications that US studio Joel Sanders Architect has made to a 1950s house in New England.

The New Canaan Residence, which takes its name from the Connecticut town where it is located, sits on a leafy property encompassing just under three acres (1.2 hectares). The project entailed renovating a low-lying, 1957 home designed by architect John Black Lee, along with creating a wing for a master suite and garage. The clients were "empty nesters" who wanted more space, particularly to accommodate visits from their grown children.

The design team was tasked with obeying strict zoning requirements while also devising a scheme that honoured the integrity of the original design. In response, they created a single-storey extension that neatly lines up with the existing 3,100-square-foot (288-square-metre) building.
"Zoning required that the new addition be aligned with the back of the existing house, resulting in the linear 'bar' massing," said Joel Sanders Architect, a studio based in New York City. "A continuous roofline visually unifies the new addition with the pitched roof of the existing house."

The team reconfigured the front of the property, replacing a circular driveway with a rectangular entry court. A "porous fence" made of Corten steel slats offers views to a formal, symmetrical garden.

Encompassing 2,600 square feet (242 square metres), the new wing has ext...