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Rather than making complete things, an architecture of alterations and additions seeks to make things complete. In some respects, all architectural projects can be seen as additions and alterations resulting from the transformation of settings, building types and elements of construction. "Nothing in any genre comes from nothing," wrote Quatremere de Quincy, and this is especially true in architecture.

The setting for this addition is an urban corner of a 19th-century block of buildings in West Philadelphia near the University of Pennsylvania. The block survived the "urban renewal" of the 1960’s and 1970's, despite extensive demolition of the fabric in the surrounding area. The addition is made to an existing row-house building type previously converted from residential to restaurant use. The construction of the existing row house consists of brick exterior walls and wooden floor joists. Although located in an historic district, the Philadelphia Historical Commission approved of the concept of a contemporary addition conceived as an enclosed terrace wrapping the existing building. The five-foot drop in elevation between Sansom Street and Moravian Street allowed for the possibility of terraces on two levels within the new enclosure. The architecture of the enclosure results from the transformation of the existing elements of construction in response to the specifics of a particular urban setting.

The three constituent elements of enclosure of the addtiion are base, frame, and covering. These recall John Ruskin's notion of architecture as an inhabitable platform beneath a canopy surrounded by a veil of enclosure. The materials and assemblage of these three elements relate to a fundamental ontology of construction. The heavy earth-bound base is conceived as a thick wall of brick with limestone lintels. This new L-shaped wall is parallel to the existing building and defines a new interior space between itself and the exterior walls of the existing building. The new wall also provides an exterior space for the new ADA ramp and the stair leading to the new exterior roof-terrace. The two minor return walls of the L-shaped addition are constructed of horizontal board-on-board siding.

The vertical mullion elements of the wood frame spring from the top of the base and batter outwards as they extend up to engage the double-joists. These double-joists clasp the vertical elements of the frame and are supported at the other end by a ledger beam against the existing brick wall. A horizontal mullion defines a continuous clerestory beneath the fascia on all three walls of enclosure..

The terne-coated stainless steel double-fascia engages the frame as its exposed ceiling joists return to the wall of the existing building. The fascia drops down over one of the board-on-board return walls differentiating it from the primary L-shaped base and frame wall. The double-fascia appears as a thick covering over the new interior space.

Each of these three elements defines the new interior space and exterior facades. Each is transformed in relation to specific urban conditions. The masonry base steps downward to table height and inward marking the corner and revealing the Moravian Street terrace level. The secondary horizontal sash elements are eliminated and the vertical mullion is diminished as the corner bay of the frame opens the interior space diagonally to the alley connecting Moravian Street to Walnut Street. The covering extends as a sloping metal overhang on the corner pierced by the vertical mullion elements of the frame. On the interior, the exposed framing of the ceiling and skylight reinforces the diagonal and urban significance of the corner.

The interior materials are the same as those on the exterior with the exception of a few finishes. Brushed stainless steel is used in lieu of terne-coated stainless steel for the L-shaped exposed circular duct and the covers of the base-board radiators. The cedar beams, double-joists, and tongue & groove ceiling and the oak board-on-board siding and stairs are finished with a transparent stain rather than an opaque paint. Bluestone surrounds the tree planter and edges the brick floor along the L-shaped exposed brick wall of the existing building. A black olive tree is planted beneath the pyramidal skylight marking the "center" of the new interior space while at the same time recalling a tree that once grew inside the original La Terrasse restaurant.

The space of the new addition is defined between the wall of the existing building and the new enclosure - an enclosure of three constituent elements derived from the existing building and transformed by specific aspects of its urban setting.