The project conjoins a new ADU to a former 2-car garage and its 2nd story guest room. The U-shape arrangement introduces private outdoor rooms, augments light and air penetration and allows for programmatic flexibility. The new dovetails into the old. Interlocking volumes, surfaces and textures mitigate the perceived mass and introduce layered screening from the front house on a tight urban lot.

A house, an artist’s studio, an apartment, form a (partially) walled village on the hill: While its lower roof scape mimics the fold of the terrain, linking building to building, its higher roofs extend one’s gaze toward the hills and the sky. The entry path modulates the ascent through the courtyard, punctuated by steps, garden patios and framed vistas. Elevated interior spaces spill onto balconies that wrap to re-engage the ground again.

In our overhaul of this 1950s 2-story residence, we seek to inject spatial fluidity – horizontally, vertically and between the interior and the exterior. The concept solidified around a new Dining bay that engages an established koi pond.  At the opposite side, a double-height window wall graces an ample Kitchen which opens to the Study above. These primary spaces define the central wing of the house against which the secondary spaces are organized.

Working lab for food and stories: Inspired by a guest tent cabin on the property, the kitchen pavilion was conceived to be more of the garden than of the house. It is a communal hub that accommodates living, making and sharing. Large openings bring in ample air, light and the changing foliage. Dedicated areas for baking and cooking, a built-in reading nook fill three corners. A walk-in pantry and chef’s library in a new foyer connect the kitchen pavilion back to the living room.