The client requested a home with clever separation between private and public areas in the house.  The house’s main volumetric elements were determined both by the program, and by an extremely challenging site.  A narrow, steep grade and early soil testing revealed that the land was not fit for residential development with a standard foundation. Due to the soil’s instability, SPF:a was required to root the structure with concrete friction piles dug 90-feet below the surface. The cost of such an activity — not to mention the challenge of staging construction on a 45-degree grade — became the fundamental protagonist of the project’s design.

Early diagrammatic explorations showed that organizing the home along a narrow floor plan and incorporating an outdoor courtyard as livable space could minimize the number of foundation piles needed for a sound structure. Such a plan would also provide one answer to the client’s request for indoor-outdoor connection throughout the home. The resulting design features two distinct volumes connected by an iconic glass bridge on the upper level and a central courtyard on the ground floor, exploring new expressions of transparency and connectivity in and through the home.  The layout juxtaposes notions of private/public separation against this indoor-outdoor connection in its organization. As one travels across the bridge from private to public living areas, floor-to-ceiling glass reveals exceptionally charged sunrise views. The elemental impact of the direct sun is mitigated through a series of limestone louvers as one descends the stair to the kitchen and dining areas. The fixed white panels, spaced at 6 inch intervals along the first-floor elevation, provide passive shading without obstructing views, and cast changing shadow patterns across the interior throughout the day. Operablewindows across the bridge allow warmer air to escape during hotter days, and serve to ventilate the  rooms below.  Aluminum grates are used for further screening and balcony rails on the second-floor terrace and interior rooms overlooking the courtyard.

The kitchen, dining, and sitting room all face southeast, each space flowing into the next, orienting the user again toward the canyon views. Perched discreetly atop the kitchen and family room, the homeowner’s large master suite and private terrace share similar south-eastern orientation.

SPF:a carefully diagrammed and analyzed different orientations and presumed movement patterns, fine tuning a plan to maximize both comfort and connection to the outdoors while walking through the house. The kitchen’s single rear wall is centrally placed and appears almost as a piece of furniture. Circulation around its perimeter leads to formal dining and living rooms, providing more secluded space for special entertaining.

A geometric 12-seat dining room table is punctuated at its north-western end by a long, narrow window, placed at eye level only for those seated at the table. The window draws the view toward the lush greenery of the home’s backyard — a more secluded and intimate side of the canyon.  A minimal fireplace and custom oversized lamps dangling from the living room’s 25-foot ceilings are proportionate to the voluminous space. The western edge of the living room backs up to a wall of glass looking out to the central courtyard, a suggestive division between the home’s living and working regions.

The western volume of the home contains its garage, two guest bedrooms and the designer’s office, which overlooks the courtyard from the second floor. Through the transparent bridge, the homeowner can take indirect pleasure from the canyon views, as well as keep an eye on the living and dining rooms across the courtyard. The façade of the home is straightforwardly articulated, boldly featuring the clean volumetric elements of the structure. The resulting architecture minimizes the geological impact while maximizing the spectacular canyon views offered as one moves through the home.