This 3,800 sf home (+ garage) offers dynamic transparency of forms, a negative-space house. Views and light pass through wings of the building. The structure embodies a constant interplay between exposure and privacy.
The young family wanted a place for easy entertaining and kid-monitoring. This is historical, extended-family property of old, so we cultivated the free-wheeling in and out feel of being at a summer compound . . .
Kitchen overlooking the drive and the pool. Outdoor terraces and eating places. Bedrooms in the treetops, where the rustling of leaves brings deepest rest and intimacy with bird life becomes the norm.
The site began as a sloping property which falls steeply off at a ravine, with a creek below. A berm at the top creates a gentle bowl to hold the two offset elevations of the house—one more public, one private. The bedroom towers provide scaling elements and gateways for living spaces farther away from the literal edge. The pool expands the limit of cultivated planes to the rim.
Exterior and interior materials are simple and high-contrast. Koa flooring and wenge veneer cabinetry--separated by glass and surfaces of reflected light--continue the interplay between solid and see-through.