Three Georgian Row Homes — A Unified Architectural–Landscape Composition in Historic Georgetown

Georgetown, Washington, DC

Developer: Dilan Homes
Architect: Christian Zapatka
Landscape Architect: Bell Design, Inc.

This John Russell Pope Award winning projected started as two empty lots, a derelict structure, and fragments of an abandoned brick garage were transformed into a cohesive ensemble of three new Georgian‑style row homes, developed with Dilan Homes and architect Christian Zaptaka. Set within Washington, D.C.’s highly regulated Georgetown neighborhood, the project required the diverse technical goals of the full team to align so the resulting building envelopes would fit seamlessly into the historic row house fabric.

Programmatically, the new composition acts as a matrix that connects interior spaces with the gardens and ties the group massing into the larger city block. The architect designed structures that reflect his own sensibility while meeting the stringent aesthetic requirements of the Old Georgetown Board. The builder‑client, closely involved in the interior detailing, ensured that modern, energy‑efficient systems were integrated without compromising the architectural clarity. Bell Design shaped the exterior environment, creating gardens that are sympathetic to the totality of the aesthetic while accommodating multiple functions within compact footprints.

We extended the exquisitely detailed brick and ironwork of the façades into the landscape, establishing exterior rooms that feel both historically grounded and entirely modern in their use. A restrained, classical planting palette—clipped boxwood, sculptural Hornbeam, and Virginia Creeper trained with precision—introduces softness, seasonality, and a sense of permanence. These plantings frame each residence while maintaining the crisp geometry of the architecture.

Full‑height doors and windows encourage the gardens’ seasonal rhythms to permeate the rear elevations, blurring the boundary between inside and out. The result is a series of intimate, elegant gardens unmistakably rooted in the Georgian tradition, yet tailored for contemporary urban living and crafted through a deeply collaborative design process.