Surf House

A hidden jewel in Santa Cruz, Surf House brings a polished bohemian feel right up to the edge of one of the state’s best surf breaks. The clients were well-versed on the nuances of the site and dreamt of a home that fit naturally and sustainably into its beachy, eclectic locale.

Subject to a 100-year geologic setback requirement as well as the CA Coastal Commission, a site-sensitive solution that respected both the coast and the community became a design focus. Monterey Cypress also acts as a focal point of the home’s design – the exterior is clad with board and batten slats, setting up an exterior and interior palette present throughout the home. Waste in the milling process and trunk use was minimized by holistically integrating every level of wood grade into the design.

Surf House’s public spaces capitalize on indoor/outdoor connection, seamlessly transitioning from the intimate front courtyard to the warm and open great room and kitchen, finally opening onto the back patio overlooking the sea. Large sweeping doors open to connect the living space to the spacious back deck, which is fit with an in-ground hot tub and outdoor kitchen perfect for entertaining visiting family and friends.

“It feels like we’re living inside a fine piece of furniture, crafted by artisans at the top of their field. I love to lie on the couch and just let my eye trace all the details. We don’t think about the house as a place. It’s an experience. It’s peace. It feeds our souls.”

LOCATION Santa Cruz, California

PROJECT TEAM
Architecture: Feldman Architecture
Interior Design: Commune Design
Landscape Architect: Ground Studio
Sawyer: Arborica
Contractor: RJL Construction
Structural Engineer: Strandberg Engineering
Lighting Designer: Tucci Lighting
Art Consultant: Allison Harding
Ownership Team: Whiteside Management, LLC
Photography: Joe Fletcher + Stephen Kent Johnson

AWARDS
2022 SARA National Design Awards: Honor Award
2022 Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Awards: Honorable Mention
AIA Monterey Bay Excellence in Design, Honor Award, 2021
Interior Design Best of the Year Award 2020: Beach House

PUBLICATIONS
Architectural Digest
Marie Claire Maison
Coastal Living
Wallpaper
Arch Daily
Elle Decor Spain
Tatler Asia
Dezeen
DIGS Magazine
Houzz
uncrate

Atherton Pavilions

ATHERTON PAVILIONS

The Atherton Pavilions are two accessory structures rich in detail and imagined by the owners to be of the landscape. Both of identical footprint, height, and material, these jewel boxes have two distinct functions: one serves as an outdoor kitchen and dining space, and the other as a meditation or workout room.

The pavilions are delicately placed amidst the existing landscape of redwoods and other mature trees – the clients desired the boxes to be transparent and discrete to blend in with the surrounding softscape. Our team collaborated closely with Thuilot Associates to soften the transition between garden and pavilion.

Lifting the pavilion’s concrete foundations at the front and rear of each pavilion creates an edge – giving the illusion that the structures are hovering over the lush landscaping below. At either end of each pavilion, concrete returns to the site, tying the structures back to the earth.

The pavilions’ facades are wrapped in naturally weathering Alaskan Yellow Cedar that shroud each end of both structures while screens help form trellises on the front and back. The wood screens serve each pavilion in contrasting ways, introducing privacy into the exercise and meditation pavilion, and a feeling of openness in the kitchen pavilion.

LOCATION Atherton, California

PROJECT TEAM
Architecture: Feldman Architecture
Landscape Architect: Thuilot Associates
Builder: Design Line Construction
Structural Engineer: Daedalus Structural Engineering
Civil Engineer: Lea & Braze Engineering
Geotechnical Engineer: Romig Engineers
Photography: Adam Rouse

AWARDS & RECOGNITION
SARA National Design Awards 2022: Excellence Award
Interior Design Best of the Year Award 2021: Residential Landscape
Honor Award, Residential Design Magazine, 2021

PUBLICATIONS
Luxe SF
Dezeen
Elle Decor Italy
Wallpaper
Iconic Life
ArchDaily
Design Milk
designboom
PLAIN Magazine
Trends Ideas

Round House

Tucked away in Los Altos Hills, the aptly named Round House is a geometrically unique structure; one of a few similarly shaped homes built in California in the 60s. The clients fell in love with this quirky circular house and initially planned a modest remodel. Soon after moving in, the pair recognized the inefficiencies of their new home – low roof eaves curiously obstructed the otherwise spectacular views, spurring their desire to open and modernize the design. Our team set out to craft a respectful enrichment of the home’s original form, focusing in on a site-sensitive response to the steep, challenging plot.

Perched atop a precipitous site, the structure has 180-degree views with a deck that runs around its perimeter. The original central courtyard, once open-to-sky, transformed into the kitchen – an appropriate gesture for an aspiring baker and a family of food enthusiasts. A large circular skylight streams daylight into the kitchen, creating a makeshift sundial that illuminates different sections of custom curved casework throughout the day. An outdoor deck is strategically carved out at the intersection of the living room and kitchen – framing sprawling views of the South Bay. A Japanese style of charred wood siding, called Shou Sugi Ban, seamless concrete floors, crisp curved white walls, and minimalist interiors let the colorful and dramatic views speak first.

Beyond the imaginative design and technically skilled execution, the home, at its core, is a vessel for experiencing the ethereal beauty of the surroundings. “I just love the way the building opens up to the land, how it interacts with the site. The views and just the experience — what it really feels like from inside out—that, to me, is maybe the biggest success of the project” Steven Stept, AIA, Partner in Charge for Dwell Magazine.

LOCATION Los Altos Hills, California

PROJECT TEAM
Landscape Architect: Variegated Green
General Contractor: Baywest Builders
Lighting Design: Tucci Lighting
Structural Engineer: BKG Structural Engineers
Civil Engineer: Lea & Braze Engineering, Inc.
Geotechnical Consultant: Romig Engineers Inc
Arborist: Urban Tree Management
Photography: Adam Rouse

CASE STUDY
Process Case Study: Round House

AWARDS
2022 Residential Design Honor Award: Renovation
Interior Design Best of the Year Award 2022: Kitchen
2022 SARA National Design Awards: Excellence Award
2022 Luxe RED Awards: Restoration or Renovation
2022 Master Design Awards: Whole House More Than $700,000 — GOLD
Dwell Design Awards 2021: Kitchen

PUBLICATIONS
Dwell
Enki Magazine
Wallpaper
The Local Project
Qualified Remodeler
Hoom
Elle Decor Italy
Dezeen
AD Russia
designboom
Gessato
Floornature
Urbana

Curveball

A couple approached our firm with a vision for a new home that fits gracefully and subtly into the land, perfect for gathering and hosting friends and family, immersed in the natural magic of the Santa Lucia Preserve. Prioritizing site-responsiveness, regenerative design, and connection to the outdoors, the design artfully places two gently curved forms to create a courtyard within a grove of oaks on a steep hillside, respecting the existing landscape and orienting public and private spaces towards both distant views as well as intimate moments with dense tree canopies.

The upper curved form, topped by a green roof, seamlessly emerges from the hillside and contains a primary suite with multidirectional panoramic vistas. The second lower curved form houses public spaces on the main level, playfully interlocking with the upper wing while carving out a sheltered courtyard between the two. The glassy foyer opens onto a landscaped courtyard with a plunge pool and a patio off the great room steps down the hillside towards a pristine meadow below.

Considering fire resiliency and sustainability, the building is enveloped by durable, low-maintenance modular weathering steel panels and aluminum windows. The eroded material aesthetic reinforces the conceptual merging of architecture and landscape; wood clad interiors add warmth and a sense of refuge to counter the rugged exterior palette.

Feldman Architecture is excited to announce that Curveball will be our first project to attempt to achieve a Living Building Challenge certification. We aim to achieve full Living Building Challenge certification, however, as this is our first attempt at working within the constraints of this rigorous program, we may pursue a Petal or CORE certification. Read about the certification process on our blog.

LOCATION Carmel, California

PROJECT TEAM
Landscape Architect: MFLA
Structural Engineer: Daedalus Structural Engineering
Civil Engineer: L&S Engineering
Surveyor: Whitson Engineers
Geotechnical Engineer: Haro Kasunich & Associates

PUBLICATIONS
Residential Design Magazine

LBC BLOG

Salesforce Tower Office Space

In the heart of downtown San Francisco, the Salesforce tower represents the pinnacle of Bay Area technological innovation and modern creativity. We were tasked to create, alongside our client, a west coast headquarters for their global financial firm in the heart of the tower – translating our designers’ residential sensibilities into the workplace, and allowing our clients to uniquely define a space that will become their home away from home for years to come.

Perched above the 50th floor and soaring past the silhouettes of the surrounding high rises and iconic SF fog, the untouched 10,000-sf space set the tone for the design aspirations of the project. The plan aimed to integrate residential design into the tower- a living room, private nooks, and a kitchen help rethink the flow and functionality of the office, and emphasize the personal and human aspects of workplace design.

Upon arrival, visitors are welcomed into the Sky Lounge, the “hearth space” and social core of the office- punctuated by floor to ceiling windows providing views of downtown, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Pacific Ocean. Natural light floods into the central lounge, which flows into open collaborative areas spread along the rim of the space, ranging from flexible workspaces to a series of small private offices. This work flow strives to strike the balance between shared spaces conducive to collaboration and individual work nooks fostering contemplative focus.

LOCATION San Francisco, California

PROJECT TEAM
Contractor: Skyline Construction
Lighting: Pritchard Peck Lighting
Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment: CRI & jak-w
MEP: WSP
AV Consultant: MWA & Creation Networks
Code Consultant: ARS
Property Management: Boston Properties
Ownership Team: Whiteside Management, LLC
Photography: Paul Dyer

PUBLICATIONS
Uncrate
E-Architect
Office Snapshots