The big custom house project is still alive and well. After some time off because of the pandemic, we are back at it. Updating the progress on this new house in the San Francisco Bay Area
The delay caused by the pandemic gave the clients time to consider what they really need and what they really want. As a result we have downsized the project from 12,000 square feet to about 7800 square feet. The design is better as a result.
The image above is the new proposed front elevation. You can see that we are starting to thing about the materials in a more concrete way. At the moment we are thinking about using a terra cotta rain screen for the portions of the building that house the service spaces, and a cement board siding rain screen on the other portions.
The Planning Department requires that the house be “mostly wood” clad. We have confirmed that the cement board siding, so long as it is a ship lap, or T&G configuration will meet that requirement.
The image above is of the back of the house, where we have chipped away at the old mass of the building and created more outdoor spaces for the upper floors (the main living level is the 2nd floor). We also still have way more glass on this side to take advantage of the spectacular Pacific Ocean views.
Breaking up the massing here and playing a little bit with the material placements means that this side is more kinetic and expressive than the more reserved and contained front elevation.
It is still a big house, but it is, we think, more livable, more sustainable, and fits in better with the context of the community.
Something good came out of the pandemic!
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