Golden Gate House, Oakland hills, California
After a fire burned the original 1925 house that stood on this narrow sloped site, the clients, an artist and structural engineer, wanted a modest home that opened to a garden from the kitchen and a sunny private terrace for the living room. They also wanted a tall space to show their modest art collection and travel pictures. The house’s final form is tall with a small footprint with a central full height skylit atrium in the house center where a bridge and stair animate the space such that daily activity and the art collection are both on display. On the north of the bridge, two bedrooms overlook the shade garden. On the south end, the primary bedrooms suite has a private deck with San Francisco Bay view. The design is influenced by San Francisco Bay Area Modern or Critical Regionalism.