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front elevation

New Rear Addition

Front Exterior

The architect and owners were in sync on every aspect of the design, including the desire for shou sugi ban siding. “I had been interested in shou sugi ban for a long time,” Herrmann says. “These Japanese cypress boards have been charred, wire-brushed, stained, and oiled. We did a lot of testing to come up with the right dark grey color; it changes in the light.”

The floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and windows were the most expensive line item in the renovation. “The house would simply not be the same without them,” says architect Miguel Rivera. “When you are in the living area with the doors open, it creates one large indoor/outdoor space that is simply stunning.” Just beyond the kitchen, a bookcase in the hallway is painted to appear red from one side and gray from the other.

An expansive glass door trimmed in vertical grain fir opens the interior to the refreshed deck. The designers made sure to keep the frame around the doors thin, in order to capture views and convey the minimal detailing of the original midcentury home. “All those details that go into keeping that eastern window wall as open and permeable as possible kept the essence of the original house, increased the indoor/outdoor connection, and retained that character that we and the owners had responded to in the house,” says Griesmeyer.

The three pavilions ascend upward from the street.

The light-filled living room features extensive glazing in the form of clerestory windows, skylights, and a brilliant wall of glass.

Existing windows were replaced with Loewen wood-clad units. The team also sanded and lightened the cedar paneling. "We liked that original tone of the cedar and just lightened it up to look more modern and airy," says Wittman.

“When I first got down to this site, the boulder that is now along the walkway blew me away, as did the one outside of our bedroom,” Peck says. “I knew immediately that’s where the house should be located.”

The Impluvium Refuge is set in a dense, tall Chilean forest within the Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve.

The back of the property has a relatively private feel for a downtown location. The living room opens out to the garden through two glazed walls, while the trellis cladding of the mudroom echoes the screens at the front of the home.

The renovation opened the kitchen to the living space and added an island for increased prep and storage space.

The boxy, contemporary new facade was completely restructured.