residential | Categories |

The Solomonov Residence is located seventy miles north of Toronto on Georgian Bay near the site of a nineteenth-century French trading camp. The client’s program called for a modernist structure that reflected its natural surroundings. The post and beam wood structure and shed roof modulate the building, while the physical disposition and layering of spaces, materials and transparencies harness the emotive and sensational impact of the site.

The site slopes steeply down through a forest of mature birch trees to a dense band of evergreens bordering the rocky shore of Georgian Bay. The house is situated at the magical edge between the deciduous and evergreen forests. A choreographed series of events heightens the experience of movement through the site and house. The driveway winds through the birches, ending at a random stone forecourt bounded to the west by a long fifteen-foot high wall of horizontal 2” x 12” cedar planks stained white. South of the forecourt is a scribe-fit log projection with a massive boulder fireplace. The boulders, found on site, were glacial deposits.

The white-stained cedar wall reflects the uphill birch forest. Only the log and stone fireplace alcove and the entry door interrupt the walls. As the visitor passes through the wall, the space opens up and the evergreen forest and Georgian Bay reveal themselves through large expanses of glass at the western wall. This transparent western façade allows the forest and the sloping landscape to become an extension of the open plan. The few solid walls that exist in the house are used to define the less public spaces and appear as volumes placed independently within the discipline of the wooden framework.

This house for a young couple and their growing family, is located on a 1.5 acre site in the Sierra Oaks Vista neighborhood that runs along the American River just east of downtown Sacramento. Sierra Oaks Vista was established as a ranching outpost in the early 1900’s, and further developed in the 1940’s as bungalows sprung up around the ranches. Today the medium-density neighborhood of shaded winding lanes underlies a complex suburban fabric of gated mansions, active horse ranches and bungalows, creating a unique and visually diverse backdrop.

Responding to both the complex surroundings and the owner’s desire for a certain level of privacy, a Main House and a Pool House make up three building elements forming a rough “U”-shaped plan set along the setbacks of the property’s perimeter, focusing inward on a large outdoor area that includes a pool, patio spaces, and a grassy back yard. The Main House is comprised of a low one story Living Pavilion that fronts the property, and a two story Bedroom Wing that runs along the south side of the site. The Pool House stretches along the northern edge of the property, cantilevering out over the gentle slope and nestling against the rear setback. Solid walls line the property edges while walls of glass focus inward on a rich interplay between external living zones and the native verdant landscape of oaks, cedars and bays.

At the Main House and Pool House two gestural ‘spine’ walls of dark-stained teak extend beyond the occupied volumes to further reinforce this introverted approach, acting as visual and physical reminders of how the clients wish to live on the site. At the Main House this wall runs north/ south parallel to the street. Fronting the street are the more utilitarian program elements: the garage, the pantry, the caretaker’s room and the mudroom. These spaces exist within an austere, cedar-clad box with few openings or penetrations. Passing through the box and spine wall, the glazed living component opens up on the internal world of the property. Full height windows and doors flood the space with natural light and invite views to the interior world. The second elongated ‘spine’ wall runs along the northern edge of the property and defines the back of the Pool House and the covered patio that separates this volume from the Main House. Like the Main House, the living spaces and a guest bedroom open to the interior of the site through large walls of glass.

These glazed Living Pavilions at both the Main House and Pool House are airy, light filled volumes that blur the distinction between inside and outside. The spaces flow into the site, through covered terraces, trellised patios, open decks, courtyards and lawns, allowing the client to take advantage of Sacramento’s warm central valley climate.

The Jackson Cabin is a weekend retreat for a Bay Area woodworker located in the wildfire prone Sierra Nevada foothills. The weather in this part of central California consists of very hot and dry summers and wet winters. A concrete foundation and corten steel facade system is employed to protect the house against the always present threat of fire. The irony of the material palette was not lost on the client and his professional skillset.

We saw these buildings as an opportunity to reflect the industrial vernacular of this gold boom area while providing a shell in which the client could practice his craft- filling the spaces with custom wood cabinetry and furnishings. The raw exterior gives way to a crafted interior with articulated partitions and furnishings delicately located to create space.

The project consists of a guest cabin and a main house. The guest cabin, which contains an artist’s studio, projects from a steep part of the site and must be accessed by way of a bridge. The main house is made up of two independently supported living volumes: a bedroom, living, dining and cooking area in the first and a primary bedroom, also accessed by a bridge, in the second. A large deck connects the two, allowing the clients to enjoy outdoor living.

The three rusty boxes float above the hillside like tree houses. A planted roof serves to insulate the house during the hot summers and absorbs rainwater in wetter winter months. Slatted screens are recessed into the monolithic west facing facades, these manually operated shading devices are controlled as necessary by the occupants.

The Deep Mission – or Outer Mission as it is more commonly known – began as farmsteads and pastureland that provided San Francisco with with Swiss chard and potatoes. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mission District was a primarily working-class white neighborhood dominated by Irish and German immigrants, with a significant Italian presence, especially after the 1906 earthquake. Irish families populated areas around 24th Street, while Italian immigrants, often employed as laborers, farmers, or peddlers, settled in the district before the area shifted toward a Latino majority in the 1950s-60s. In the 1990s to 2000s housing bubble and its subsequent gentrification led to many Latino/Chicano and Asian/Filipino families to move into the area. Until recently it remained one of the few low-rent and middle-class enclaves in San Francisco. Lately the neighborhood has gained popularity with Silicon Valley employees looking to be in the city, but have easy access to the highways heading south.

In a full circle moment, our client, a recent Irish immigrant, purchased a 1916 post earthquake Edwardian timber framed house adjacent to the 24^th Street corridor. With the building she inherited a well proportioned but down on her luck family compound that had seen a lot of unpermitted interior manipulation throughout the years. Our first goal was to uncover the years of illegal renovation and neglect and see what stories might be hiding within. The design process saw us untangling a rabbit warren of walls to open up and create a large light filled Kitchen, Dining and Living area. In the process a closed off industrial skylight was identified, revealed and celebrated at the nexus of the Public and Private spaces. The open loft like space now hovers over the bustling neighborhood below where one is as likely to stumble across a hipster bar or Michelin starred restaurant as the old family fruit stand.

Former clients purchased a shingle style ocean front property on the east end of Long Island and brought us in to redesign and furnish the interiors in a way that would better complement their lifestyle and extensive modern art collection. The reinterpretation was to be thoughtfully sympathetic to the existing character of the house, yet clean and modern.

The renovation began with a new boulder fireplace at the heart of the house- 2 story and appropriately rugged, and the rest of the insertion grows from here. White Oak shelving lines the Great Room and plays host to the client’s books and art. A sculptural stair brings people up to the second floor, where a bridge separates the Primary bed wing from the Guest wing.

Custom furniture: the dining table, side tables, beds and built-ins complement the mid-century pieces providing a relaxed and comfortable place to spend time. Our clients sum it up nicely:

“The interior itself is absolutely poetic….. you managed to achieve exactly the sense of casual elegance we hoped for. We love the fact that you feel invited to put your feet up on the furniture and relax, but everywhere you look is another beautiful detail to feast your eyes on. The fireplaces are epic! We LOVE the Great Room, and the books make it cozy while the windows make it open. The bridge and beautiful viewing area (which we fought!) is gorgeous. We adore the ceiling, where it feels like the waves bring your eye to the view of the ocean. One of the masterpieces in the house is the front stair, and even the ceiling of the stair to the basement. The master bedroom feels like being on a boat, and Peter’s remarkable custom rug brings the beach and ocean indoors.”

There are 12 children in the McGroary family, Some live abroad, some live nearby, and then there is Philip, the youngest (at 55) who still lives with his mother in the same house in which he was born. They live in the ‘new’ house- built in the early 1900’s.

One night at the local pub, Philip asked me about the feasibility of fixing up the old stone house- the house his father was born in- now derelict and crumbling. He wanted a place where family could come home and stay and be close by. He wanted to maintain the character of the old homestead, but make it water tight and insulated, and introduce new creature comforts.

The work here rehabilitates the old stone house, reinforcing the crumbling stone walls with new, cast in place concrete. The dirt floors are excavated and insulation and a new radiant floor system is added. A cast in place concrete addition houses the modern kitchen and bathroom, and introduces a communal dining area that frames a view of the iconic mountain- Carnaween.

Softly arcing around a west facing ridge at the top of a forested bowl, this family retreat nestles in the Sierra Nevada mountains offering unobstructed views west of the Pacific Crest Trail. The mountain getaway serves three generations of a tight knit family, providing distinct spaces for both socializing and private respite.

Cresting a hill, the entry drive follows a rolling ridgeline along a craggy promontory featuring sculptural rock outcroppings and tall Jeffery Pines. The approach passes through a high alpine Aspen grove and native flagstone entry courtyard. Weathered cedar and charred wood volumes soften the edges of the house, blending with the textures of the surrounding landscape, while a striking red wall pulls one through a daylit slot into the heart of the house. This is the great room, the gathering hall, the central courtyard; the place where three families and three generations come together.

The 22’ foot gathering hall, featuring floor to ceiling glazed walls, is anchored by an earthy concrete fireplace to the north. The grand views west towards the Pacific Crest trail are complemented by more intimate views north, past the fireplace, into a field of natural granite outcroppings and pine forest beyond. The kitchen island is designed so that all 12 immediate family members can sit together at the same time.

From here, a stair slips behind the red wall and leads up to the sleeping quarters. A delicate bridge passing through the entry hall leads into a copper-clad bedroom suite with framed views west. More private living wings stretch south along the entry drive and east following the forested ridge. These areas are quiet and more intimate, with bedroom suites and bunkhouses for two adult children and their families. By design, the three-bedroom wings always circulate back through the central courtyard; the idea of family and gathering always reinforced.

In late 2020 we were approached by our clients, Joyce and Rich Eldh, about designing a house for them on Block Island, which is about 9 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. They’ve been on Block Island for 40 years and owned a house on the southwest corner for the last 20. Over time they’d seen their sunset views obscured by increased development along the southwest coast and decided to buy a property on a bluff along the northwest side of the island with sweeping views of Charleston Beach, Block Island Sound and out to the mainland of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The property also provided intimate views north to sunbathing seals in Cormorant Cove, the lighthouse at Coast Guard Beach and the tall-masts of the Block Island Regatta as they pass through the narrow inlet to dock in the Great Salt Pond.

Rich was familiar with BCJ’s work on the Masiello Residence (completed in 2012) which is also located on the west coast of the Block Island. He had been fishing off the coast of the island for years and first saw the BCJ’s Masiello residence from the water. Both Rich and Joyce felt the size, massing, and restrained detailing of that house fit the historical vernacular of the island while still being contemporary in character. It was critical to them that their new home on Block Island not feel at all out of context; instead, they wanted it to seem as if it had been there for a long time.

An existing 2-story concrete block house with a low hip roof was located on the new property they purchased. They planned to demo that house and build new – but wanted any new design to avoid blocking any of the neighbor’s existing views. Part of our design process included carefully checking that the design didn’t block view corridors and kept the height of the building as low as possible (which was a challenge for the 8,000+ SF of program). However, this legwork helped us when submitting documents for Zoning/Planning approval (and a notoriously strict Review Board).

It was also important to Rich and Joyce that the house feel comfortable for just the two of them, but also easily host large gatherings of 20+ people (along with accommodations for everyone at night.) The overall size of the program elements are divided into a series of structures which are carefully sited and use the landscape to help conceal the overall scale of the building. The three structures are: a primary Gathering Space with the Living/ Dining/ Kitchen; a connected Bedroom Wing; and a detached Pool House with Guest Bedrooms. These gabled volumes reference the vernacular of the coastal New England with simple cedar-shake clad forms, framed openings with divided lights, and simple scaled-back details.

Getting to the residence involves slowly driving on rutted sandy roads. A steep stone laid drive curls through low windswept trees and shrubs and into a crushed stone courtyard defined by the three structures and the native dry-laid stone walls. This entry court provides an exterior space sheltered from the strong south winds common on Block Island. The social heart of the house faces you as you enter the courtyard. A massive muddlestone fireplace flanks the main entry to the house which leads directly into the open Living/ Dining/ Kitchen space. The Bedroom Wing runs perpendicular to the main entry, connected to the LDK with a low glassy, modern link. Down a few steps and to the north is the Pool House and large Pool. The granite pavers extend west past the end of the pool where a fire pit is nestled into the hillside – the perfect place for a sundowner.

To understand and intelligently respond to the parameters of the competition, the design process included multiple facets. An energy consultant and general contractor immediately became integral to the team. Appropriate energy and construction systems were discussed before forms were even sketched upon paper. Concurrently, the history and culture of the region were researched and the LBC goals understood. What resulted is an integrated systems approach that has intelligently informed the architectural intent.

Indigenous strategies are celebrated in the design. A long, berm-like wall insulates and protects the house from the prevailing northern winds. The traditional Aleut home, the barabara, similarly used the earth as protection from the elements. An arctic entry is incorporated to buffer against the harsh climate, as often seen in cold climate precedents. Subsistence living with a culture of sharing gathered and hunted food has been part of traditional Aleut living. Through strategies of providing appropriate space as well as encouraging community involvement, the home is designed to invigorate some of these indigenous strategies in a modern way.

To design a home embodying the imperatives of creating a living building, one of the largest challenges has been the site itself. A large hill, situated to the south of the site, blocks much of the limited direct sunlight that reaches this latitude. Embracing the challenge, the home still functions to satisfy the LBC without sacrificing function or architecture. Passivhaus strategies of creating a highly insulative and sealed building envelope are fundamental to the design, significantly increasing the envelope’s efficiency while decreasing the heating energy demand. Heat is recovered even as return air is replenished by fresh air. While the home is designed for a specific site, it is replicable on a variety of sites throughout the Aleutian Islands. On a site receiving a greater amount of sunlight, the home can take advantage of this solar energy and reduce dependency on electric water heaters through the use of solar water heaters and passive heat gain through the southern glazing. In this case, the wind turbine may be downsized, taking advantage of the reduced demand on electricity.

SITE

The house sits slightly raised above the landscape upon a foundation of helical piers. The piers have minimal impact upon the site and require no extensive sitework, accommodating varying site circumstances. The system can be removed if necessary, and the landscape of native species including cladonia, angelica, crow berry and hair moss is almost instantly restored.

In addition to respecting the natural landscape, the design encourages self-sustenance for residents. A large outdoor garden irrigated by the home’s grey water allows for the growth of potatoes, cabbages, carrots, turnips and radishes. Since the growing season is short, a root cellar passively stores many of the vegetables throughout the winter. A small shed with a chicken coop provides a meat processing/storage area as well as storage for fishing equipment. Meats are dried and salted in a space separate from the home maintaining the comfort of the home.

WATER

As clean water sources are quickly depleted throughout the world, careful consideration has been given to water supply and use strategies within the home. The roof has been designed to allow for 100% stormwater collection over its entire surface. Net zero water is achieved by collecting, filtering, purifying, and storing this rainwater for all potable water needs. This storage of potable water is multifunctional. The house features a full length “water wall”, sized to meet all potable water demands. The linear storage tank provides structure as well as natural seasonal benefits: when the wall is full during the winter, the extra insulation protects the house from cold temperatures and the northern prevailing winds. The added thermal mass helps regulate temperature swings throughout the day. Waste water from sinks and shower are filtered and purified to be used again as grey water for laundry, irrigation, and replenishment of the water table.

Black water from toilets and kitchen sinks typically needs to be directed away from the house to unsustainable waste treatment centers. Here, a compost toilet creates fertilizer for non-edible vegetation, and an undersink grey water filter traps food and grease, producing grey water that can be reused.

ENERGY

To date, energy needs on the Aleutian Island chain are typically met solely by unrenewable sources, specifically gas and oil. An integrated systems approach coupled with passive strategies and efficient appliances, fixtures, and equipment allows for an energy plan that is intelligent in both the short and long terms. The house is built to be insulated and sealed per PassivHaus standards to allow maximum energy recovery and savings. Hot water is provided by efficient on-demand water heaters, and space heating is provided by hydronically-heated mass walls. These structural partition walls are heated for only a few hours a day. When the system is not running, stored heat in the thermal walls continues to radiate out and warm adjacent spaces. To reduce energy loss, the windows of the house can shutter closed at night to trap in heat.

The energy that is needed is provided by a single on-site 1.9kW wind turbine. Geothermal, solar, and hydroelectric power were explored as renewable energy sources. Year round, high winds batter the community providing a harsh climate as well as the opportunity for a reliable energy source. The house is netzero with all demands being met by the single turbine. On the community scale, single-family turbines can be avoided and a larger turbine may be installed for multiple houses. Resources and infrastructure can be efficiently shared. A small wind farm is even feasible to provide enough renewable energy for the entire town of Atka. If the home is built on a site with greater potential for solar heat gain, the wind turbine may be downsized to a 1.2kW turbine to take advantage of the reduced demand on electricity.

HEALTH

The house can shutter closed at night and fully open up during the day, a process mimicking several plant species whose flowers close during the night hours to preserve resources. While the house has this ability to “button up”, operable windows line the living spaces, easily permitting user-controlled ventilation. When weather eliminates the desire to open up windows, an Energy Recovery Ventilator transfers heat from exhaust return air to fresh supply air from the outdoors.

The architecture itself is inherently biophilic, providing a healthy, thriving environment for occupants. From the interior, views are towards the southern, open and natural landscape. Additionally, strategic locations of the house feature full-height windows allowing a spatial connection to the surroundings. The north wall is covered with moss and runs the length of the entire building. Here, the landscape wraps up the face of wall and shelters the house from prevailing northern winds. When viewed from the exterior, the wall becomes an extension of the landscape. The remaining exterior facades are clad in corrugated metal, creating a soft surface upon which light plays and changes throughout the day. Local stone aggregate is used in the concrete mix for the thermal mass walls tilted up into place by the community. The house is directly linked to the people that live within and around it.

MATERIALS

The majority of the home’s construction consists of prefabricated panels with structure, insulation, and finishes fabricated and ready for assembly. These structural insulated panels have been used in LBC precedents and are fabricated with no redlisted materials. All building materials used promote healthy environments and satisfy LBC imperatives. Most materials are procured and organized in Seattle, providing an efficient workflow of on- and off-load in Seattle and Atka. Since the panels are manufactured in a controlled and efficient environment, construction embodied emissions as well as on-site construction waste are kept to a minimal. Local labor can be employed to construct the house, building up the skills and experience of a community that can utilize these skills for future projects. Once the house is constructed and occupied, there are no operational emissions.

Historically, waste building materials have filled a staggering portion of landfills around the world. In an effort to address this, the house is designed so that deconstruction will result in recyclable components. The corrugated cladding, lumber, and service pods of the house can be reused. Helical piers can be removed and reused at a new project site, and the landscape can easily return to its natural state. Occupants of the house are encouraged to compost, further diverting materials from landfills.

EQUITY

The home is inherently livable and comfortable. Spaces are intimate and efficient, yet comfortably spaced through a tight layout. Reducing the footprint results in more efficient energy use through construction and use. The house is accessible, designed as a single level with an entry ramp or stair based upon occupant needs. The home is subtle and does not impede visually or physically upon neighbors or the community. In fact, through community involvement, the home is intended to inspire public good and future architecture.

BEAUTY

Careful consideration has been given to visibly exposing the functions of the house. The linear water storage tank has a viewing portal that allows occupants to gauge potable water supply and usage and provide the opportunity to educate and raise awareness. The home additionally relates to the indigenous culture, re-imagined and modernized. Using these strategies can both inspire and inform future projects in Atka and on the Aleutian Island chain.

Intentionally subtle, the home celebrates simplicity and stands in harmony with its surroundings. The design is meant to serve and delight the user both aesthetically and architecturally in a natural and unassuming way.

Recently relocated from California to New York City, residential clients and dear friend of ours purchased an apartment in the iconic 56 Leonard “Jenga” building in Tribeca. While they very much appreciated the open floor plan, tall ceilings, and bold design, they desired a space that was more humane and engaged us to create a sympathetic solution; one that was light but powerful, eased the scale, and tempered the space in a way that was not obvious or out of place. Our charge was to create a new environment that felt natural to the building as if it was conceived of from the very beginning.

Paying homage to the building’s existing themes¾elegant curves and a pill-shaped motif¾we first reconsidered the cracking Venetian plaster fireplace and the black-lacquered kitchen island for warmer, softer, and more durable materials. A custom-designed, vertical, white oak, and bronze-fluted assembly gracefully bends around an existing firebox opening. As the sun slips towards the western horizon, the oak half-rounds and bronze angles transform: the colors intensify and diffuse a warm glow complemented by the twinkling city lights. In the nearby kitchen, the existing island felt out of place to our clients who desired something more sensitive. The vertical oak and bronze language from the fireplace is again employed at the island. These transformations infuse and unify the Great Room with a new warmth and character. White oak and bronze assemblies are introduced throughout the home, providing a sense of semblance: a place to remove one’s shoes and coat, a specially-crafted console to dispense keys, a base for a cherished sculpture.

As they gather together for breakfast every morning, it was vital to design a small, intimate table near the kitchen. Responding to the pushing and pulling forces within the space, a custom, walnut ‘bean’ table bends around an existing column and inhabits a previously awkward and unusable space. Two-inch walnut strips are laminated together in overlapping angles to compose the complex shape of the top while legs taper down to lightly touch the floor. The table is large enough to easily accommodate the family, yet intimate enough for one enjoying the remarkable view over their laptop or book.

The powder room that services the Great Room offered another opportunity to borrow gestures from the fireplace and further unify the home’s character. Accommodating existing elements and limited space, a custom-designed vanity of solid Carrara marble with a ribbed basin and bronze accent serves as a sculptural showpiece within the entry sequence.

Thoughtful interventions have been added throughout the home; some more apparent like the elegant rhythm of the fireplace and some more subtle like a simple bronze transition in the new wood floors. These interventions are considered, crafted, and executed in a way that respects the existing building but weaves a gentle language perfectly reflective of the family’s sensibilities.

These sensitivities to nature and its beauty are depicted by another well-known Hudson River
School artist Asher Durand. His great work Kindred Spirits on the left shows the poet and the painter on a ledge overlooking a ravine. Durand paints the immensity of nature with man subordinated, small, part of, but IN nature. Compare this painting with the view on the right. 4 This is the site of Peter’s Creekside House in California, where the poet and the painter come to create an opera of originality and purpose.

This Caretaker’s Cottage and Office were built along the steep bank of Dry Creek at the entry to a five acre residential property in Woodside, California. The simply organized structures replaced preexisting buildings located along the creek’s edge. The inefficient and compartmentalized cottage was structurally compromised while the derelict office was falling into the creek. Local jurisdictions required that the new buildings be located within the footprints of the old buildings. Creating the new buildings provided an opportunity to introduce a clear relationship between the cottage and office, provide more efficient and complementary spaces, and better respond to the complexities of the site.

The two structures are located just north of a bridge providing the only access to the site, spanning Dry Creek. The nature of the program required that the building have an immediate presence on the site while providing privacy for the building occupants. The buildings are situated along the verdant edge of the creek between the public world of the entrance and drive and the private world of the forested creek. Solid wood clad volumes front the entry drive and house the utilitarian program elements while the more private living areas open up to the creek. The solid volumes are stretched out along the forested edge helping to heighten the definition of the public and private zones. Delicate ribbon windows are deliberately and sparingly placed in the austere façades providing specific views, introducing light, and maintaining privacy where required. In contrast, the full height glazed living areas allow the intimate building plan to extend outward.

The solid weathered cedar boxes provide privacy to the building occupants, but also minimize solar gain with their Southwesterly orientation. East facing overhangs further minimize solar gain and complement the shade provided by the trees along the creek. Both building’s incorporate radiant heating systems and provide passive cooling through the use of operable windows and doors, located to encourage cross ventilation and take advantage of evaporative cooling from the prevailing breezes carried along the surface of the creek. As the existing structures were disassembled, the creek bank was restored to its natural state as native seasonal flora was introduced to restabilize the banks and offer runoff control. The new structures were delicately placed in this landscape to encourage the stewardship of the vegetation and proliferation of the creek banks.

While materially and formally similar, The Caretaker’s Cottage and Office are programmatically diverse. The Cottage houses the living elements of the program, while the Office hosts the working component. The utility bar at the Cottage consists of a galley kitchen, a closet, and a bathroom. The ribbon window at the kitchen is placed just over the counter, bringing light in at the working surface. In contrast, the window at the bathroom is located high, introducing natural light and views of the surrounding foliage while maintaining privacy. The main living space is a 12’ x 28’ rectangular bar with floor to ceiling windows on three sides. A Murphy bed is built into a wood clad nook to the south, inserted into the window system. The sleeping area can be partitioned off when desired with two pocketing doors built into the utility bar. Double doors from the living/ dining area open onto the shared courtyard between the Cottage and Office, creating a visual and programmatic link between the two buildings. As one enters the Office’s meeting space on axis from the Cottage, the floor cantilevers out from the bank while the full height glazing allows the occupant to float above the creek. (special sentence here?). The utility bar at the Office hosts the office and desk area, a utility room and a bathroom. The ribbon window at the office is located so that the Caretaker can monitor the main entry and the bridge. Like the Cottage, the bathroom window is placed high to bring in natural light but maintain privacy.

The simple, modest structures function as one as they address diverse programmatic needs, while maintaining a strong relationship to one another. They boldly assert themselves when necessary and at the same time softly float into their surrounds, clear responses to their place.

Working with a progressive developer in the Lake Tahoe area, this collection of townhouses and single-family residences is a modern reinterpretation of the ski chalet. Conceived to be smartly efficient and compact in plan, these ski-in/ski-out homes are designed around social spaces that take advantage of breathtaking views to the ski slopes and Carson Range beyond.

In considering the ideals of work-life balance and the needs of a modern, tech-savvy homebuyer, the client asked us to design a set of dwellings to challenge the concepts of the traditional mountain chalet. Though materials often found in conventional retreats—warm wood, glass, and exposed structure—are used throughout these new mountainside homes, many elements have been modernized to provide a contemporary residence with a strong connection to nature, while also paying homage to the Lake Tahoe vernacular.

Located on the side of the mountain, in a forest dense with Jeffery Pine and Douglas Fir, the two distinct sites have direct access to the ski slopes. Outdoor living is celebrated, with direct access to skiing, hiking, and biking trails just out the front door. Large expanses of glass offer a visual and physical connection to the outdoors. The 6 single family Residences and 11 duplex Townhomes visually and materially engage their surroundings, emphasizing healthy environments and healthy living, as demonstrated in the project’s LEED Gold certification.

The Townhomes are more compact and efficient, stepping down the mountain, following the slope. The simple shed roofed volumes are pushed and pulled and staggered vertically, uniquely engaging the ski slope and providing a sense of individuality in a duplex building. Utilities and storage are organized along the shared wall, pushing access to light and privacy towards the building exterior. Bunks are slipped into interstitial spaces to accommodate the seasonal overflow. A double height light slot is carved through the building, bringing light into the depth of the duplex and always creating a visual connection with the natural world outside.

The advent of the California Gold Rush in the late 1800’s introduced pioneer passes up through the mineral rich Lake Tahoe basin. As transportation to and from the lake improved — the first car to survive the pass was in 1905 — intrepid adventurers and those seeking the respite of the great outdoors began to wind their way through the Sierra Nevada range and into the basin.

Today the Lake Tahoe region is almost an extension of the Bay Area. Highway’s, trains, airplanes, as well as technology, make the area more accessible than ever before. An increasingly tech-savvy, mobile workforce value the flexibility to work from anywhere, any time, and on any device… and that is no more evident than in the Bay Area. These people work in very intense environments, focusing on things that are often very abstract- technology, writing code, engineering; things in virtual space. Many of these people have a desire to go and be connected to a real place, a real landscape, and the recreational opportunities that accompany that.

With this new work/ life balance in mind, the Residences and Townhomes at Northstar challenge, or reinterpret, the concept of the traditional mountain chalet. Familiar materials- warm wood, glass, natural stone and exposed structure, are reorganized to provide a contemporary dwelling type that makes a strong connection to the surrounding environment, while paying homage to the Lake Tahoe vernacular.

The Residences are entered from above into an elevated world. One feels as if they are perched in the trees. The roof lifts up to reveal sweeping views of the Martis Valley and the Carson Range to the northeast. In the early evening hours the floor to ceiling glass walls frame sunlit views of the Sierra Nevada’s. Soft north light floods the social communal area and the Master Bedroom hangs out over the slopes.

The Residences offer respite from the working world with a specific emphasis on responsible, ethical development and the promotion of ecological, sustainable design.

Tools for producing the natural cleft stone.

The Creekside House is located in Woodside, California, 30 miles south of San Francisco. The agrarian and ranching village is nestled along the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains, fifteen miles from the Pacific Ocean. The coastal range buffers the community from the cold air and fog that frequently consume San Francisco. The summers in Woodside tend to be very arid and warm while the winter months bring consistently heavy rains, leaving the surrounding hillsides lush and green.

The site is located in a small valley between two divergent creeks. The dense forested edges of the creeks exhibit a variety of native California flora, complete with old growth cathedral redwood rings, great western oaks, 500 year old Douglas firs and countless aromatic bays. These two verdant bands define the edges of the property while between them sits an expansive meadow of tall grasses with a young oak grove to the north.

The clients lived on the property for seven years before deciding to build a new homestead that better accommodated the needs of their growing family. The original house was sited close to the Legend Oak that grows out of Bear Creek. It was surrounded by a haphazard array of randomly placed ancillary buildings that spoke to the agrarian nature of the property. It was important to maintain the spirit of the relationships these buildings shared with their surrounds, while allowing the new house to have its own identity that further engaged the site.

The property is accessed via a small winding country lane that drops down through a grove of mature western oaks, spanning Dry Creek with a small bridge. The entry drive passes two new caretaker buildings on the right and winds up along the edge of the creek before entering the meadow in front of the house. A minimal glass living pavilion consisting of dining and living program elements is placed in the meadow, opening these more public spaces onto the bucolic rolling landscape beyond. The thirteen foot tall pavilion opens itself to the outside through floor to ceiling glass expanses and full height center pivoting doors. The cantilevered overhangs float beyond the window wall providing sun protection and reducing heat gain in the summer while offering protection from the heavy rains in the winter.

There is a unique interplay between the public and private elements of the house. The more private spaces grow out of the glass pavilion as articulated wooden volumes dancing in the landscape. The weathered cedar boxes tuck in and out of the glass pavilion and offer refuge from the openness and exposure of the pavilion. These boxes have more autonomous relationships with each other reminiscent of the spirit of the original house. The bedroom volumes are arrayed along the forested edge of Bear Creek under the canopy of the great Legend Oak tree. Windows and openings are thoughtfully placed providing deliberate views to elements in the landscape. As the weathered cedar skin is peeled away the warmth of the Douglas Fir structure and siding within beckons in an orange glow.

This house thrives on its intuitive relationship with its surroundings, on one hand open and honest, and simultaneously reclusive and intimate… but always providing a bridge to the pastoral world beyond.