Project Detailsx

Project Overviewx

The clients came to us wanting help investigate whether they should purchase an empty lot and whether building a new home would be feasible before completing the sale. After doing some design studies, meeting with Orinda city planning, fire and building departments, the one-acre lot was purchased. It was the last one available in this planned development in Orinda. Part of the work was to design a new access driveway serving the new 5,000 square foot two-story, three-bedroom home. The new access drive incorporates a hammerhead-shaped fire truck turn-around and brought all the utilities to the house.

We were also asked that we explore roof forms such as butterfly shapes that arched upward to take in the views of the valley beyond, and it became clear that the steep rising hillside made placing most of the living space on the second floor the best solution. The ground floor has the main entry stairs, three-car garage and woodworking shop with walkable skylights in the roof ceiling. This space can also be a fourth bedroom for resale in the future. Going up to the second floor, there is an elevator as well as the main living spaces and bedrooms, pool and guest bedroom. Spectacular views of the valley are seen from every room and on the wrap around decks outside. Working with the landscape architect the hard- and soft-scape compliments the home with spots of floral color and easily walkable paving.

Project Detailsx

Project Overviewx

Atherton has many large substantial homes – our clients purchased an existing home on a one acre flag-shaped lot and asked us to design a new dream home for them. The result is a new 7,000 square foot four-building complex consisting of the main house, six-car garage with two car lifts, pool house with a full one bedroom residence inside, and a separate home office /work out gym studio building. A fifty-foot swimming pool was also created with fully landscaped yards.

Given the rectangular shape of the lot, it was decided to angle the house to incoming visitors slightly so as to more dramatically present itself. The house became a classic u-shaped home but Feng Shui design principals were employed directing the placement of the pool house to better contain the energy flow on the site. The main house entry door is then aligned with a special Japanese red maple at the end of a long visual axis at the rear of the site. These angles and alignments set up everything else about the house design and layout, and views from various rooms allow you to see into virtually every space tracking movements of others in the home.

The residence is simply divided into two wings of public use, kitchen and family room, and the other wing of bedrooms, connected by the living and dining great room. Function drove the exterior form of windows and solid walls with a line of clerestory windows which bring light into the middle of the large home. Extensive sun shadow studies with 3D tree modeling led to the unorthodox placement of the pool to the north of the home, but tree shadow tracking showed this to be the sunniest area during the entire year.

Sustainable measures included a full 7.1kW solar photovoltaic array technically making the house off the grid, and arranged so that no panels are visible from the property. A large 16,000 gallon rainwater catchment system consisting of tanks buried below grade was installed. The home is California GreenPoint rated and also features sealed roof soffits and a sealed crawlspace without the usual venting. A whole house computer automation system with server room was installed as well. Heating and cooling utilize hot water radiant heated concrete and wood floors supplemented by heat pump generated heating and cooling.

A compound of buildings created to form balanced relationships between each other, this home is about circulation, light and a balance of form and function.

Project Detailsx

Project Overviewx

A 6,000 square foot 2-story new home complex in Milpitas was designed to facilitate the owners’ large business parties and gatherings, to have rooms for the kids to come back to upstairs, and a ground floor master suite with a huge walk-in closet. Several separate structures make up the dwelling: The main house, 3-car garage with carport for overflow parking, and a separate entertainment and recreation building separated by a courtyard from the main house.

The business activities include gatherings in the hundreds of people, so parking was maximized and guests can flow in through a separate gate to party in the courtyard and recreation building. Inside this structure is a wet bar, billiard room, workout gym and home theater. The main house ground floor has formal and informal living rooms, open kitchen and master suite with views and expansive windows in every direction. The house is sited on the crestline of a hill with views of the San Francisco Bay and private golf course below. The indoor-outdoor aspect of the house is further accentuated with outside living and dining areas.

High ceilings and expansive glass walls dissolve the sense of enclosure taking advantage of the site’s openness and privacy. The owner’s suite is downstairs in anticipation of aging-in-place, and upstairs there are three bedrooms and four bathrooms plus a sitting area lounge and casual TV loft area.

The house sits on one acre at the top of a low hill range overlooking Milpitas. The city was very cognizant of the importance of keeping a low profile at this crestline and required extensive story poles and photo evidence of the proper height and siting so as not to be seen from certain selected vantage points. The house construction has broken ground and is due for completion at the end of Summer 2020.