At their historic home in the small Marin County, California, town of Fairfax, general contractor Alex Martin and ceramicist and Pilates instructor Annalisa Chasan are fortunate enough to own a double lot. While the couple had envisioned their children playing soccer in its large yard, in reality, “it was just a big expanse of thirsty grass,” says Annalisa. “It was pretty, but not a space that we used—and we’re in the wrong climate for grass.”

During the pandemic, they decided to make it functional. A local ordinance allowed for the construction of an accessory dwelling unit, so they started thinking about a dedicated space that would enable Annalisa to move her sculpture practice out of the main house’s basement and host private movement classes.

An artist/Pilates studio was an intriguing brief to Obata Noblin Office (ONO), the young San Francisco–based architecture and design firm cofounded by Tyler Noblin and Max Obata in 2020. Alex had met Obata in his previous role at Spiegel Aihara Workshop, and Noblin had met Obata when they worked together at Snøhetta’s San Francisco office before that. After a poolside sit-down, a walk of the site with Annalisa and Alex, and a few bike rides around the neighborhood, the ONO architects drew up a concept, made physical models, and got the commission.

“It was an idea we had never heard before,” says Obata of this dual-purpose building. To design it, Noblin says, they “focused on orientation.” Angled around an existing magnolia tree in the garden, the building’s boomerang shape creates a natural division between the workout and art-making wings while also forming an interior courtyard with the main house.

Through large sliding glass doors on one side of the ceramics workspace, Annalisa can enjoy the landscape and a visual connection to her family. On the opposite, street-facing wall, afternoon sunlight streams in through a row of clerestory windows, custom-made in Sacramento with powder-coated yellow aluminum frames (the entire window set cost $55,000).

“One of the project’s initial precedents was Ryōan-ji, the rock viewing garden in Kyoto where a raised building focuses the view on the meditative landscape,” explains Obata. Views to nature are equally important in the Pilates area, where floor-to-ceiling panes capture morning sun.

$8,500 Excavation	$23,000 Foundations	$29,000 Framing
$6,500 Insulation	$55,000 Windows	$19,250 Electrical
$22,000 Plumbing & Radiant Heating	$11,500 Mini Split	$26,000 Roofing & Gutters
$29,925 Solar	$4,500 Tile	$5,500 Wood Floor
$15,000 Tadelakt Bathroom Walls & Plaster Floors	$30,500 Cabinets	$8,000 Plumbing & Electrical Fixtures
$6,500 Zinc Countertop	$9,000 Sheetrock & Plaster	$8,000 Wood Doors
$21,000 Siding & Shingles	$12,500 Interior Paneling	$9,500 Paint & Stain
Grand Total: $360,675

Though Annalisa notes they had “an easily understood, shared aesthetic” with ONO, she and Alex, who oversaw the build, did ask for some specific design requests: post-and-beam construction, those bright-yellow windows, and decks with an overhang. Each interior area required functional specifics, as well. The sculpture studio needed a workhorse of a sink (integrated into a 12-foot-long, $6,500 zinc countertop), an easy-to-maintain floor (plaster from EcoStucco), a kiln nook, and a place to display Annalisa’s artworks; the movement studio required natural light, wood flooring, and space for a Pilates wall unit and floor mats.

Each space also achieves a different feel. Annalisa describes the neutral-toned Pilates studio as “a quiet, intimate experience where people can relax,” while the art space is “energetically separate” with pops of color in the built-ins and freestanding furniture. A folding screen door physically divides the two areas, but the tongue-and-groove bleached wood ceiling overhead is continuous—as is the cedar facade and the eaves over the wraparound deck. On the street-side face, Noblin and Obata chose cedar shingles to match neighborly vernacular, though the lemon-hued frames are also visible.

“As you move around in the courtyard, the building changes personality,” says Obata. “We really love to bring an atmosphere of mystery or the unexpected to our projects.” Particularly, he adds, with small-scale structure like this one where “clients are a little more adventurous.”

At the same time, this ADU is a taste of home. “My mom [Courtney Bean Obata] was a ceramic artist and she had a studio in our house growing up,” Obata explains. “I think it all came full circle for me seeing this light-filled studio being used by a working artist.” (Architecture also runs in Obata’s family—his late father, Gyo, cofounded HOK.)

“The geometries of the building are so special,” says Annalisa, adding that “when you’re inside, it’s really inspiring.” It’s also multifunctional. A tadelakt-clad three-quarter bath is designed to serve the Pilates studio, but it could also support the ADU’s future use as a guesthouse. A small room off the ceramics wing could be easily converted to a bedroom. Bespoke blue cabinetry acts as storage, seating, and shelving.

For now, however, it will remain a creative haven. “This is the biggest space I’ve ever been able to work in, and once I moved in, I had a crazy burst of creativity making large objects that I didn’t even know were in me,” Annalisa continues. “Once you spread your wings, it’s like, ‘Hey, look at my wingspan.’”

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Max Obata, Obata Noblin Office / @obatanoblinoffice

Builder/General Contractor: Alex Martin Construction, Inc.

Structural Engineer: Katy Briggs, Base Design