Modern Berkeley Hills

This new, modern, single-family residence inhabits a steeply sloping lot in the Berkeley Hills. The neighborhood has been built out for many years with this vacant parcel existing as an outlier. The 4 bedroom/2bathroom home accommodates the active lives of a young family with two growing children. The massing, siting and roof form of the design carefully fits within the context of existing neighboring homes while providing a distinctive architectural expression. Neighbors’ view corridors are maintained and privacy conflicts are avoided through the careful orientation of windows and use of frosted privacy glazing on side walls. Organized in a Z shaped configuration, the residence creates two semi-enclosed outdoor courtyards. The first semi-courtyard is located at the heart of the social spaces of the home and is open to the South to admit generous sunlight and warmth. This space serves as the outdoor gathering area on the main living level of the 4 level home. The second semi-courtyard honors an existing ancient Redwood tree. Carefully located glazing and skylights provide glimpses of the redwood canopy from within the home, adding a vertical energy to the experience.

The central leg of the Z remains visually open. The central roof deck looks down onto the family and entertaining courtyard, up to the magnificent Redwood, back to the rear yard accessed by a bridge element, and out to the panoramic views of SF Bay. The rich spatial and social interactions provide a feeling of expansiveness in a modestly sized 2,070 sf (including garage) home.

Large horizontal windows provide sweeping views out to Mt. Tamalpais, the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown SF, the Bay Bridge, and the Port of Oakland. The calibration of window sill and railing heights maintains privacy from the street and allows for a sense of refuge from the city while being expansively open to the views, light, and social interaction with family and guests.

The existing ancient redwood tree and fruit orchard in the rear yard were maintained. The home provides lots of natural light and ventilation with a feeling that is very open and airy. The design takes advantage of the regional views that become available by moving up the hill and then building forward to see beyond the neighboring homes. The construction budget was modest at $750,000 so the overall size of the home was limited and materials were selected for their simplicity, durability, and economy.

For increased sustainability the home consumes no fossil fuels. An efficient air-source heat pump provides both domestic hot water and heating water for the in-floor hydronic heating system. With generous natural cross-ventilation no cooling system was necessary. Cooking uses an electric induction cooktop and oven. The garage has an electric car charging station. The South facing roof slope over the master bedroom is allocated for rooftop solar PV panels. Low VOC finishes were used. High efficiency LED lighting was used throughout the home.

The home provides a gathering, resting, and socializing place for the family. Suffused with light and air, coupled with a quiet palette of colors and materials, a sense of calm and serenity is created in the home. Diagonal sight lines (vertical and horizontal) create a visual dynamism and expansiveness. The concept of vistas out of the building as well as across and through spaces makes a modest sized home feel much more open. Horizontal elements such as ribbons of windows, siding orientation, and railing elements emphasize the long distance vistas while off-axis elements such as views up to the redwood tree, down from the overlook deck and up through the interior transom and out a skylight cause one to pause and contemplate. The project represents a tension between motion and pause, naturalistic and man-made, and calm and dynamic forms.