Qualified Remodeler magazine recently featured a rather impressive remodeling project:

Just outside Boston, in the town of Wellesley, Mass., the owners of a home that bordered conservation land faced changing needs. After purchasing the 1,700-square-foot, 1930’s house, the residents performed a renovation in 1995 to increase the size to 2,000 square feet. Over time the family of four grew to a family of six, and the owners were ready for a master suite, home office and a larger place to entertain guests. They loved the house, neighborhood and peaceful conservation land abutting their backyard, so rather than move, the owners decided to undertake a 2,600-square-foot addition to more than double the home’s size.

The $1.6 million addition included a master suite; his and her bathrooms; a 2-story mahogany library that serves as an entertainment room and home office; a guest room and guest bathroom; a large basement renovation with a recreation room, gym and mechanical room; and a new entryway. The project won the Silver award in Qualified Remodeler’s 2010 Master Design Awards in the Room Addition over $100,000 category.

The focus of this remodeling project was to be unobtrusive and to respect the original style and structure of the home — both inside and out. According to the president of the firm that completed the project, “The remodel is a prime example of how to create an addition with sensitivity to existing architecture.”

Part of the approach to maintaining the original look and feel was to use made-to-order Marvin Windows, which offer enough options and flexibility to match any architectural style. Read more about this remodeling project at Qualified Remodeler.

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Do you see that sort of transparent-looking, sort of reflective, sort of strange bubble coming out of the side of the house in the photo? That’s actually an addition built onto the side of the house.

Yes, really. The house is in Beijing, China, and the idea behind the bubble is that it allows for architects to add to these old homes without destroying the visual character of the area. I’ll let the Beijing-based architects at MAD explain:

The Hutongs are historic poor neighbourhoods of central Beijing. Though the Hutongs delight tourists, life for the residents is hard: they have limited private space, and no indoor shower or toilet. At the same time as these residents are being re-housed on the outskirts of the city by the government, their historic homes are being occupied by the rich, whilst property developers tear down the old buildings and recreate them in ersatz form.

This bubble, then, simply adds a staircase and a toilet to the home without stomping all over the neighborhood’s character. Or does it? Do you think this is better or worse than a more traditional addition?

Thanks to the DIY Maven at Curbly.com for sharing this story.