Modern Moves in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

By Maria LaPiana

Trained and licensed in Italy, architect Manuela Mariani developed an appreciation for contemporary design and a respect for sustainable building practices long before she moved to the U.S. In 2007, when she and her husband decided to buy in a Boston suburb, she put her wealth of experience to work. Because they fell for a well-worn home built in 1880, she promptly set out to remodel—in effect, reinvent—it. Mariani wanted it to better reflect her aesthetic as well as her family’s lifestyle (she and her husband have two young sons). The architect knew that above all there had to be more light and more open space … so she introduced both in good measure. Her inventive modern moves included breaking through the attic floor, adding on a three-story, light-filled bay, and literally raising the roof. From the street, the home looks barely changed (that was the plan) and yet its transformation is astonishing. See how she did it in the May-June issue of New England Home, landing soon in mailboxes, and on newsstands May 12.