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

Urban Oasis

Perched on a double lot overlooking downtown San Francisco, Urban Oasis’s steep and sloping site served as an inspiration for an inventive modern design. Feldman Architecture set out to maximize the home’s indoor outdoor connection and emphasize shared space for clients with young children, while working with the original structure’s original, non-conforming footprint and orientation. The main living area stretches lengthwise across the left side of the property, allowing greenspace to crawl and connect the entire site, unlike the much taller surrounding several-storied neighbors. The upper level perpendicularly spans the width of the site as a low hanging floating bar, maximizing square footage and allowing both the clients and the public to enjoy the breathtaking vista by minimizing the vertical scale of the home.

The home is clad with plastered white brick which wraps into the interiors – a thoughtful mixture of white brick and rich California Walnut casework juxtapose light and dark, warm and modern, seamlessly connecting interior and exterior living spaces.

SUSTAINABILITY
The team paid special attention to ambitious sustainability goals, honing in on innovative rain and site water reuse, as well as solar energy harvesting to achieve a LEED Platinum certification. The rainwater story stands out – green roofs filter and capture rainwater, which, after additional filtration, feeds into the home’s laundry and bathroom water systems. Greywater collected from the home is then used to irrigate landscaping, and the cycle is refreshed. Additionally, all of the wood used is in its second life, rich Redwood exterior cladding and Walnut interiors were reclaimed or recycled from excess materials from local projects.

LOCATION San Francisco, California

PROJECT TEAM
Architecture: Feldman Architecture
Interior Design: Commune Design
Lighting Design: Sean O’Connor Lighting
Landscape Architect: Ground Studio
Contractor: Forsythe General Contractors
Structural Engineer: Strandberg Engineering
Ownership Team: Whiteside Management, LLC
Photography: Joe Fletcher

Playworks Headquarters

A relationship that began in 2016, Feldman Architecture originally connected with Playworks via the website OnePlus, an online platform connecting nonprofits to relevant design professionals providing pro-bono services. Playworks, an organization dedicated to providing ‘better recess’ to schools across the country, wanted an office to reflect the fun philosophy of their company and the dynamic ways in which they engage with not only the Oakland community, but also represent their larger organization as the national headquarters.

The new office space welcomes visitors with an inviting Playworks graphic and an energetic pop of color- a reception desk constructed of repurposed school lockers, doubling as storage and reinforcing the recess theme. The front office space is centered on a collaborative, open lounge with flexible seating, surrounded by a selection of conference rooms and individual “phone booths.” An existing loft was repurposed to provide additional flexible workspaces. Throughout the office space, recess and playtime themed wayfinding graphics add youthful energy, graphically illustrating popular recess games.

Through thoughtful collaboration and dialogue, the renovated Playworks headquarters gives this organization a home, specific and meaningful to its purpose and values.

“Feldman became an active part of the Playworks family. They were fully invested in our success. Many of the Playworks team, not just the project team, knew Ben by name as he was in our office frequently and attended fundraising events. There was a shared passion of the project that made us feel confident that we would end up with something great. Which we did.”

LOCATION Oakland, California

PROJECT TEAM

Contractor: Oak Park Construction
Building Owner/Project Manager: Metrovation
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers
Mechanical Engineer: MHC Engineers Inc.
Lighting Consultant: Associated Lighting Representatives
Photographer: Cesar Rubio

PUBLICATIONS

E-architect

The Pavilion

Our design team, upon initial visits to the site, aimed to construct a home that both made whole the scarred terrain and benefited from the unusually flat land. These conditions encouraged our designers to push the house deeper into the hillside, nestling the building naturally into the surrounding landscape. The result provides sweeping views of San Jose and elevated privacy levels- the house is hidden from public view from all but a few spots, organically blending into the surrounding geography.

The entryway welcomes visitors into its defining feature: a glass pavilion that serves as the home’s great room. The glass walls disappear into the hills, eliminating visual barriers between the home and the valley below. The exposed steel structure elegantly breaks and frames views. Natural light filters into the space throughout the day, while panoramic vistas sweep out across San Jose to the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

Two stucco wings stand as the home’s anchors, grounding the glass core and structure to the earth. To the South, a single-story section lies close to the land and houses a master suite and two smaller bedrooms. The North wing rises dramatically above the rest of the residence, extending from a subterranean garage, through a casual den, to culminate in a loft above.

LOCATION San Jose, California

PROJECT TEAM

Landscape Architect: Arterra Landscape Architects
Builder: Groza Construction
Structural Engineer: FTF Engineering
Civil Engineer: TS Civil Engineering
Photography: Joe Fletcher

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

California Home + Design
Restless Living Magazine
Dezeen
Est Living
ArchDaily
HYPEBEAST
designboom
uncrate
Minimal Select
PLAIN Magazine