atelier V’s Bishop 1+1 Residence begins construction

Westwood, California

atelier V : architecture (www.atelierv.com) began construction on the so called Bishop 1 + 1 Residences in Menlo Park, California in late December 2012.  The project is a planned collection of two small homes on an approximately 10,000 SF lot located in a wooded setting in Northern California’s Silicon Valley.  “What made the setting especially interesting for us was the existence of the San Francisquito Creek on the immediate northern boundary of the site.” says Mark Vaghei, AIA, atelier V’s Design principal.    The site had two existing 1950′s bungalows that had to be demolished to pave the way for the new structures.  The client, initially wanted to do one bigger house for his family, However, due to the rural/ small scale nature of the neighborhood and local opposition, he was convinced to modify his plans and apply for a subdivision to build two smaller homes.  The subdivision map process became a long legal battle as well, which was finally approved last year.  As a result of the conditions put on the subdivision approval, strict area, height and daylight plane requirements were placed on the property limiting the envelope of the homes in a severe fashion.  “We took the constraints put on us by the County Planners as an opportunity;  rather than fighting these restrictions, we used them to derive at the formal massing of the two structures.  This resulted in an interesting Parti which made each house unique in its own way and responsive to its immediate surrounding while in dialogue with the other!”  Says Mark Vaghei, AIA.

http://www.atelierv.com/vews/?p=1505