Rutledge Street Residence
San Francisco, CA
With little to work with but the potential for wonderful light and views, we have given this 1950's Bernal Heights residence an expansive feel that belies its limited square footage. Key to our design is a new staircase (strategically placed to accommodate a future third floor addition), which transforms the entryway and upper level. We collaborated with Andre Caradec of S/U/M Architecture on the design and fabrication of the unique guardrail. The pattern is the result of many considerations: a desire for the perforations to modulate relative to eye level while ascending and descending the stair, the need for a lightweight and self-supporting structure, and, as always, the complex dynamic between design intent, constructability and cost.
Crook | Cup | Bow | Twist
Nicasio, CA
Crook, cup, bow, and twist are standard categories of wood deformation tendencies, but more broadly, for us they reference the latent potential energy of all natural systems towards movement. Passages from valley to hill, constructed to natural areas, 'tamed' to 'un-tamed' landscapes, create a series of thresholds in the 42-acre site that provoke an immediate sense of wanderlust. The project's intent is to harness both the physical and ephemeral sense of this movement as a way to foster an open-ended and exploratory quality in the architecture. This overt connection to the natural world deepens our understanding of sustainable architecture beyond our commitment to responsible material specifications, construction techniques, and new technologies.
Awards and Publications
- Unbuilt Architecture Honor Award, American Institute of Architects San Francisco, 2010
- Faculty Design Award, Honorable Mention Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 2010
- American Architecture Award, Shortlisted The Chicago Athenaeum, 2010
- Unbuilt Architecture and Design Award, Boston Society of Architects, 2009
Nineteenth Street Residence
San Francisco, CA
The owner's buoyant personality, own design work, and extensive art collection inspire the renovation and addition to this Potrero Hill home. Of course, the dramatic views of the city from the site, which is open on three sides, contribute their fare share to the project's success as well. Here, we worked specifically to "curate" the natural light — using it to draw people up and through the space, to focus attention on the collection of art objects, and to propel them back out to panoramic views of the city beyond. As in all of our work, we were strategic in the use of resources, maintaining the original character of the front of the home, while subtly coaxing more character out of materials, such as simple exterior siding, at the rear.
Hide-A-Way House
Sonoma, CA
This new single-family residence serves as a counterpoint to some of the constraints our clients and potential clients have seen in current prefabricated home alternatives. While aligned with the underlying principles of these systems, including streamlined construction methodologies, and the economical and sustainable use of materials, the Hide-A-Way House attempts to offer a custom-designed solution that meets many of Pre-fab's goals while allowing for a far more flexible and sympathetic response to the particularities of the site. Its design promotes strategies that are fully informed by the daily and seasonal shifts in the local ecosystem and surrounding context, while maintaining a minimal environmental impact.
Buena Vista Residence
San Francisco, CA
Typical of many San Francisco Victorians, this home's kitchen had evolved out of an enclosed porch and rear-yard service space. It was undersized and isolated from the life of the current house. Our work updates this ad hoc space, bringing it into the natural flow of the rest of the structure, and creating a stronger, more modern relationship to the rear yard. The centerpiece of the new light-filled space is a custom island / drop-leaf table that converts from a casual family dining area to an ample workspace for the children's art projects, or seating for twelve. Open shelving and a series of custom ledges for the family's seasonal canning efforts intensify the casual, working feel to the kitchen, which is admittedly modern, yet somehow appropriate to the essence of the home.
Awards and Publications
- Dwell Magazine, 100 Kitchens We Love, May 2011
- 7x7 Magazine, October 2009
- Residential Architect, June 2009
- San Francisco Chronicle, February 2009
Overlook Residence and Guest House
Los Gatos, CA
This project, currently under construction, includes an extensive remodel and addition to an existing modern residence high above Silicon Valley, as well as a new secondary dwelling nestled into a forested slope below the main house. Both designs are inspired by dominant images from the site: boulders, bark, and leaves. The massing of the main house addition references the solidity of the far-off hills below. Perforated-metal solar screens take their gestural shape from the conflicting push and pull of the desire for view versus the desire for shading on the highly exposed site. The new home below immerses inhabitants in the cover of the trees and appears to launch from the hill off a series of cantilevered columns over the steep site.
Caselli Avenue Residence
San Francisco, CA
The inspiration for the remodel of this San Francisco Victorian came from an unlikely source – the owner's modern-day cabinet of curiosities, brimming with jars filled with preserved aquatic body-parts and specimens. Through a series of relatively subtle moves, this room now becomes the heart of the home, with glimpses into the remarkable collection a constant presence from every space. A partially translucent glass wall and shelving system protects the collection and divides the owner's study from the adjacent family room. The pattern on the glass (derived from the genetic code of a harbor seal) allows the owner and his specimens to peek out from the office – and allows his young children an occasional peek in.
Awards and Publications
- Home Tours, American Institute of Architects San Francisco, 2010
California Home + Design, March 2009
- San Francisco Chronicle, February 2009
