Amara
Russell Abraham

Amara

SWATT + PARTNERS as Architects

Located on a flat corner lot in Atherton, this new family home is surrounded by beautiful mature trees, providing the building privacy on all sides. The main house and guest house open up on the ground floor to extend the living spaces out to an expansive landscaped area and swimming pool, while more private programs of the house are housed on the upper and basement floors.

 

How is the project unique?

 

This new family home in Atherton is located on a flat corner lot with beautiful mature trees along the perimeter of the property, affording privacy on all sides.

 

The main house plan forms an ‘L’ with the public spaces on the ground floor opening up to expansive landscaped areas and a swimming pool. Deep cantilevers with trellises provide sun protection for the interiors and create beautiful dappled light patterns for the outdoor spaces. Exterior forms are simple compositions of stained Western Red Cedar horizontal boards and integral colored stucco. The upper level at the ends of the ‘L’ cantilever over the ground floor, while a vertical stair tower faces Atherton Avenue, the main street, and is a visual counterpoint to the horizontality of the overall design.

 

The project also includes a detached garage that interlocks with the main house and a detached guesthouse that continues the strong line of trellises from the main house and anchors the short end of the linear pool.

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