24-005 Flow
A young San Francisco family looking to relocate to the South Bay purchased a corner lot in a residential neighborhood, excited by the untapped potential of the private, lush site. Creating a continuous, flowing, immersive landscape on this gently sloping property served as the project's starting point and influenced the home’s organic, curving forms.
On the ground floor, the home is broken up into two separate bending structures, the larger housing an open plan great room, dining room, and kitchen that flows into landscaped paths and outdoor living areas on either side. The smaller structure contains an array of secondary spaces – including a private guest suite, as well as a craft room and gym. The second-floor drapes over the first, creating a bridge between the two, and providing privacy for a primary suite that floats over the backyard. The bridge itself functions as a windowed den and gathering space overlooking both sides of the property, connecting the family’s bedrooms. An airy library flows onto the roof garden, overlooking views of the bay and mountains beyond.
Siting and Footprint
The design team worked to thoughtfully choreograph the folding building forms into the flowing landscape design through a series of iterations of the home's footprint, landing on two organic structures connected gracefully by a second-floor bridge. This layout most sensitively interacts with the site, providing a sense of compression upon entry, and release into the landscape beyond.
Materiality
The design infuses the client's refined sensibilities into the aesthetic feel - drawing upon both Scandinavian and Japanese influences when crafting the soft, natural material palette. The ground floor is clad in a rough, light stucco, providing a solid, grounded feel, while the curving second floor, clad in vertical wood siding, floats lightly above. The interior showcases a mix of concrete, stone floors, and wood ceilings, crafting a palette of soft, muted, natural materials that are at once cozy and modern.
