Located in a small town in Northern California’s Napa Valley, this renovated farmhouse is set in a landscape of vineyards and mature walnut trees. The clients, local wine makers, sought a modern residence that would complement the small estate while maintaining the framework of the existing structure. Initially envisioned as a modest kitchen renovation, the extent of the remodel grew organically to incorporate nearly the entire home and adjacent landscape.
Programmatically quite similar to the original house, the renovated residence neatly defines places for public and private use. A subtle shift of the main entry to the center axis of the house, now guides people directly into the open living room and dining area. The cedar-clad stair and service core delineate the boundary between gathering spaces and the more private guest rooms and master suite above. In renovated portions of the home cedar siding indicates areas of intervention, while traditional gray-painted cedar shake, punched windows, and white trim of the former design are preserved in areas that remain untouched. The same wood detailing continues into the expanded kitchen, which takes on a new role as the hub of the house and gateway to an expanded deck, pool, renovated guesthouse, and water tower. The deck and updated landscape now serve as an extension of the home with a variety of opportunities for entertaining, including a built-in barbecue, fire pit, and bocce ball court, with views of the vineyards beyond.
The extensive redesign of the old farmhouse, with its seamless connections to the surrounding landscape, creates a contemporary home for the clients to enjoy for many years to come.
Completed 2016
Calistoga, CA
2017 IIDA Honor Award
2016 Interior Design Best of Year Award Finalist
The objective for Square Inc headquarters was to make a place that reflects the values and mission of the company, that resonates with what they do. For a corporation with the tag line “make commerce easy” and a product that exemplifies the phrase, a clean, open, environment with clear organization seemed a no brainer. The challenge came in the selected site: four massive 100,000 sf floors of a former data center without any windows. In order to create navigable and enjoyable space, the team looked to urban design principles, incorporating a central boulevard as a primary circulation and interaction route, with landmarks of programmatic importance peppered along the length. The boulevard is anchored by an amphitheater stair that connects the office floors and provides a flexible venue for a host of activities, from individual focus to large presentations. Detailing and materiality throughout the space are quite stark, with clean lines and white interiors pulling daylight from the newly added windows into the deep floor plates. While rich color and materials are reserved for landmark collaboration areas. The result is a comprehensible space that physically manifests the corporate identity of Square.
Completed 2017
San Francisco, CA
2018 AIA Institute Honor Award, Interior Architecture
2016 Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award, Interior/Workplace
2014 AIA SF Citation in Interior Architecture Award
2014 Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards Finalist
2014 IIDA Work Large Honor Award
Originating in San Francisco circa 2005, the now international phenomenon of Park(ing) Day allows participants to take over a typical metered parking space in an urban setting for the day. The meter must be fed of course. For our park we chose to create and an oversized, analog, entirely human-powered pinball game. The console and components were constructed out of humble materials that can be found in any run of the mill hardware store. Tasked with styling the game, the Earthquake theme for San Francisco proved irresistible. Local landmarks and icons were incorporated into a indie-punk-band flyer aesthetic suitable to the DIY nature of the game. The approachable, please touch, park won over the hearts of downtown locals and tourists alike.
2011 Architectural Record - Good Design is Good Business Award
2011 IIDA Notable Award - SERVE Category - Lokey GSB, Mills College
LEED Gold Certification
Elevated on a steeply sloping site in the Berkeley Hills, sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay encircle the residence. Naturally, the clients requested the remodel take advantage of their setting and incorporate the views as much as possible. As much of a landscape solution as an architectural one, the approach from street now provides moments to pause and admire the bay beyond on intermediate landings and seating areas. While a light touch to the home itself opens the kitchen and living space out to the west, welcoming visitors onto terraced decks a where they can take in their surroundings. The dramatically updated landscape flows elegantly up from the public way and into the home, providing countless opportunities to enjoy breathtaking views, whether in comfort of the updated home or out in the fresh air.
The Leap Sandcastle Classic is an annual fund raising event that benefits The Arts Programs of Bay Area public schools. While the true goal is to pool resources and support the arts, the more well known event is the Sandcastle Competition that occurs at the culmination of the fund raising window. Each team is given a 20ft x 20ft site on which to construct a castle of their choosing relating to the year’s theme. Teams are comprised of a fifth grade elementary school class, design firm, engineering firm and contractor. Collaborating on the design is always entertaining, and the teamwork of the sandcastle build is unforgettable.
