This $11 Million ‘Habitable Art’ Masterpiece Is DC’s Most Impressive Modern Home

A modernist masterpiece by acclaimed architect David Jameson has hit the market for $10.995 million in Washington, DC.

"[It’s] a really special house, it’s gorgeous," says Christopher Leary, co-founder of HRLS Partners at Sotheby's International Realty, who is listing the property along with his partners, Robert Hryniewicki, Adam Rackliffe, and Micah Smith.

"We play in this level market frequently. But this particular house surpasses the typical luxury house you find in Washington. It's one of those houses that, when you walk in, you kind of feel like this house is still going to be standing here a thousand years from now."

Jameson designed and built the 8,379-square-foot home for a client, incorporating some of his signature Modernist touches like high-end materials and quality finishes like bronze panels, mahogany wood, and handmade bricks.

"David's homes are referred to as habitable art, and they really truly feel like that," Leary says. "When you are inside this house, you feel like you're walking through a sculpture."

"The way that [David Jameson houses] are designed and laid out, it is perfectly built for an individual or a family's lifestyle. Everything is very methodical and strategically laid out to live your life very conveniently," says Leary.

There are six bedrooms and five full bathrooms and all of them as well as other living spaces have the modernist feel but not the starkness some modernist homes have.  

"There’s nothing really sterile about the house. The way [everything] all comes together, it really makes a very warm and inviting house," says Leary.

He adds that all of the floors have radiant heating and the wood and other materials create a welcoming color palate.

"Every corner makes you want to grab a book and roll up on a on a couch and take a snooze."

The home sits on a third of an acre across from Battery Kemble Park and the design of the home including 11-foot ceilings take advantage of that.

"All of the huge glass panel doors and walls look out into the park. That is your artwork," Leary explains.

"This property has a lot of great walls to hang significant pieces of art, but the real, true art is the proximity to the park and the beautiful way that the glass walls have been highlighted throughout the house to make sure you capture every moment of the park that you can see."

The view changes with the seasons.

"In fall, it's beautiful sunlight and reds and oranges and yellows in the trees. In the wintertime, you can see snowstorms rolling in across the Federal parkland. In the springtime, the grayness of DC's winter just explodes into lime green and then summertime is another absolutely beautiful energy of its own."

The property is in the desirable Kent neighborhood and features a big outdoor amenity.

"I think the large pools that we usually typically see are about 40 feet long. This is extraordinarily long at 53 feet long, and it's also heated and salt water," he says, adding the pool area is visible from many parts of the house because of its horseshoe shape.

"With the front door being on one side of the horseshoe and then the back of the house being the back side of the horseshoe, in the middle of the horseshoe is where the pool is. So, the whole house kind of wraps around the pool."

The sellers built the home for themselves but are ready to move on, leaving the home to someone else to enjoy..

"Modern architecture is not for everybody, but if modern architecture is your thing or you're open to it, there's no better modern home in Washington," Leary says. "Anybody could fit into this property."