We were asked to build a new house on a San Francisco property surrounded by traditional homes. We understood the neighbors' concerns about protecting the street’s architectural character and worked successfully with them to design a house that blends harmoniously into its setting. To protect adjacent homeowner views, we matched the scale of the older structures, and we stepped the front facade back. This massing gave us wonderful roof terraces, which relate well to the natural topography.
Inside, we united a variety spaces into an integrated whole. The client had loved his previous homes: a farm in New Jersey, a loft in Manhattan, a condo in Spain, and a full-floor apartment in Pacific Heights. He brought those experiences to the design of this house. Every opportunity was taken to allow small spaces to feel large, and to create hierarchy of space and variety of experience. The house blends a modern open plan with traditional detailing.
As we worked with the client and the neighborhood character we arrived at an architectural language evoking the Craftsman movement as well as Modernism.
“I liked him and his ideas. I think he is a very good architect. The end result was a fabulous house.” - BP
featured in:
San Francisco Houses, by Ana Cristina G. Cañizares, 2003, teNeues