Sited in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma California, this single family residence floats over the hillside with commanding views of Sonoma Valley.

The intent was to design an extremely restrained home both in scale and cost, that intimately embraces the terrain both near and far. The homeowners requested a home that effortlessly links the indoor experience to the surrounding landscape. The tripartite diagram is quite simple: two masses, clad in standing seam black zinc, rise up out of the earth and support a third floating glass pavilion that performs as a bridge connecting the two solid volumes. The first two masses, housing the guest bedrooms, a kitchen, and the entry are positioned on the crest of the hillside, while the master-suite, library, living room, and dining rooms embrace the panoramic valley views to the West. A circulation spine running through the center of the home connects all three wings creating a highly efficient plan.

Both of the North and the South ends of the glass pavilion open up to the exterior with walls that retract and floors and roofs that hover over the descending terrain. These decks provide welcome exterior space that is shaded from the searing summer sun for both public and private spaces. Stretching naturally South along the length of the adjoining contours is a pool and exterior cooking area. With the walls retracted, the home takes on the character of an open pavilion, providing ample space both inside and out for cooking, dining, and swimming.

The materiality of the floors and ceilings are also clearly divided with the glass pavilion articulated by lighter wood cladding. The warmth and texture of rough-sawn oak ceilings and distressed oak floors complement the diaphanous spaces they embrace. The earthbound masses reinforce their connection to terra firma with solid concrete floors and neutral white ceilings.

The resulting home is intended to be a quiet armature that dramatically frames a stunning natural context while providing the homeowners an environment that fully blurs the line between interior and exterior. It is a structure that fully embraces the power of biophilic design at a low cost.

Material used :

Bathroom cabinets

Valley Woodworks, Napa CA

Bathroom fittings

Hansgrohe Axor Uno

Bathroom fixtures

Premanufactured Concrete Sinks - Trueform, Vessel Sinks - WetStyle Standalone, Tub - WetStyle, Wall Mounted Toilet – Duravit

Cooktop

Miele

Countertops

Neolith at Kitchen, Richlite at Master Bathroom

Dishwasher

Bosch

Doors

Fleetwood Sliding Glass Doors, Custom Entry Door

Exterior siding

VMZinc, Hardiepanel

Flooring

Poured-in-place concrete

Navarre engineered T&G wide plank oak flooring

Royal Mosa tile flooring

Garbage disposal

InSinkerator

Hardware

Entry Door: Tom Kundig Collection, Interior Doors: FSB

HVAC equipment

Design-Build by Mechanical Subcontractor: Meier and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning Inc.

Insulation

Energseal

Kitchen cabinets

Valley Woodworks, Napa CA

Kitchen fittings

KWC

Kitchen fixtures

Blanco Sink

Lighting fixtures

Recessed Lighting (interior & exterior) – HALO, Landscape Lighting – BEGA, Guest Baths Linear Wall, Sconce – AAMSCO Lighting, Master Bath Linear Wall Sconce – Edge Lighting, Kitchen Decorative Pendants – Marset, Dining Room Decorative Pendant – Roll & Hill, Master Bedroom Decorative Pendants – Naomi Paul Studio

Oven or range

Miele (Combi-steam oven)

Paints/stains/wall finishes

Wood Siding Stain - Sansin

Interior Paint - Sherwin Williams 

Refrigerator

SubZero

Roofing

WeatherBond Pro TPO

Skylights/roof windows

Royalite

Solar energy system

Design-Build by Pool Subcontractor (Johnson Pool & Spa)

Windows

Fleetwood