Following our firm’s philosophy of evolving architectural form in response to a site’s landscape, climate and context, this project for a house in the Berkeley Hills was shaped by passive design strategies and the steep topography of the clients’ land.
Floor to ceiling windows on the South and West of the main living space promote solar heat gain to create a warm living space in a chilly micro-climate. Sliding doors facing west align with operable clerestory windows facing east, allowing the dry air to temper heat gain, resulting in a living room that is almost constantly open to the outside air.
The clients, retiring from their careers, requested that the living, sleeping and bathing spaces all be on the upper floor, with barrier free entry from the street. Therefore the upper level of the house– containing the garage, a bedroom suite, living / dining and kitchen spaces– was designed to be parallel to the street. Because the direction of land’s slope is not perpendicular to the street, the lower levels of the house were rotated to be parallel to the contours, creating a volume that is angled away from the street line to minimize concrete foundations and to create a flat terrace in the rear yard.
The resulting angular forms also enhance the panoramic view over the San Francisco Bay— the west living room window wall faces west to the Marin headlands and Golden Gate Bridge, while the edge of the deck faces southwest towards San Francisco.
By responding to sun position and topographical shape, the resulting volumes are an evolution of architectural form in response to the project’s site.
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