Noe Valley 1

This old house had previously been poorly remodeled and split in two.  We gave it a new clarity of organization and a greater sense of connection to the garden, sky and view.  Now a single family residence, we organized it into four zones: a basement workshop, a ground-level master bedroom suite, an open-plan living/dining/kitchen area above, and front-wing office and guest room.  

The three floors are unified by a wall of glass extending from ground to roof.  Through this glass, there is an east-facing view across the city and San Francisco Bay, with its constantly changing weather.  We painted the interior white so the house would be suffused throughout the day with a shifting palette of natural light. For seismic security we added a steel moment frame around the back facade. We replaced substandard existing decks with steel-supported, cantilevered decks.

The upper deck sits a few steps below the living level, to maximize the sweeping view. The steel beams supporting the deck and the underside of the deck itself create an effect of dropped ceilings around the outside edge of the master suite, giving the suite an intimate scale and a sense of enclosure (despite the floor-to ceiling glass), and allowing the central area to feel grand by comparison (an architectural device we learned from Frank Lloyd Wright.)

Our renovations were guided by a minimalist sensibility.  The result is that the more eclectic, charming features of the original mid-century Modern architectural style are set off and framed by the clean lines of the new work. The house retains its character even as it becomes more distinguished.