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Palo Alto Residence
Palo Alto Residence
Palo Alto, CA, United States
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Palo Alto Residence
Palo Alto, CA, United States
CCS Architecture designed this 5,800
square foot home for a family of five in Palo Alto, California. The clients both work in the Silicon Valley,
and they have 3 young children. The
design is specific to their close-knit family needs as well as their rigorous
sustainability standards. The
architecture is contemporary, but it has warm, authentic materials and refined
details to accommodate a casual, unpretentious lifestyle.
The home's bent, linear configuration
divides the site; the public, street sides wrap the corner, creating a more
private interior. A breezeway leads to
the entry and the yard beyond, while also separating the main house from the
garage and studio. The second floor
bridges over these two and becomes the ceiling of the breezeway.
The lower part of the house has primary
walls of highly crafted rammed earth made with soil excavated from the
site. The upper floor, framed in wood
and steel, is clad in wood siding plus aluminum panels. Between the two is an 18-inch ribbon of glass
that admits soft light and views while making the upper floor appear as if it
is floating.
Layout
The home's Genkan
entry is a feature of Japanese houses.
Exterior stone paving extends into the entry, where shoes are removed. The interior floor steps up six inches. Living functions--kitchen, dining, family
room and office--inhabit the lower level, and all face a stone-paved courtyard
with a Callery Pear tree. The yard
beyond is landscaped with a synthetic lawn and drought-tolerant meadow
grasses. An L-shaped interior façade
with 65 feet of wood-framed, sliding glass doors, maximizes the indoor-outdoor
connection. Circulation is a continuous
flow that emphasizes the counterpoint between solid and open.
The second floor
contains a library plus three bedrooms and two bathrooms. An 80-foot long "gallery of light"
connects the bedrooms and bathrooms; its skylights and windows are designed to
animate the walls with geometric shapes derived from washes of light and
shadow.
The stairway
between floors is located where the house bends to form an angle. It leads up through an open space that
connects the library above to the home office below, with natural light
filtering in from the clerestory windows at the raised roof.
Across the
breezeway is the garage/studio building.
The studio is a general work space, but it also has a full kitchen and
bathroom for long-stay guests.
Landscape
The homeowners opted to install meadows and synthetic turf grass
rather than a traditional yard. The street sides are planted with a mix of
Japanese Maples, Ginkgos and native grasses to create a privacy buffer. The site interior is planned for playing and
outside living. Stone paving enhances
the indoor-outdoor connections close to the house. The artificial lawn requires no maintenance
and no water. The meadow beyond is laced
with an infinite path, shaped like a figure-eight.
All landscaping
is comprised of drought tolerant plants that can survive the hot Palo Alto
summers with little water. The
homeowners have planted a fully functional vegetable garden with citrus trees,
herb garden, organic fruits and vegetables, and large composting bins.
Sustainability Features
·
Roof-mounted
solar panels include a six-kilowatt photovoltaic array to generate electricity
and a thermal water panel array that provides domestic hot water. The latter also preheats the water for
radiant floors throughout the house.
·
A high-efficiency
gas boiler provides back-up heat in winter months.
·
A north-facing
light monitor (atop the two-story stair) brings in even, north light, with
operable windows to naturally flush the house of excess heat in the warm summer
months. This works in concert with the
low-story windows, which draw in fresh, cooler air for passive cooling.
·
Rammed-earth
walls are pneumatically-compacted, 16-inch thick walls that wrap around the
lower floors of the house. Soil from the
site comprises about 50 percent of the walls' content. In addition to being a sustainable material,
rammed earth has a thermal mass that helps modulate temperature fluctuations
throughout the year.
·
Concrete
foundations are made with 30% fly ash concrete.
·
All windows and
glass doors have low-e, high performance glazing, and most are operable for
natural ventilation.
The house was built on a
flat, downtown lot whose previous home was carefully deconstructed to minimize
waste.
square foot home for a family of five in Palo Alto, California. The clients both work in the Silicon Valley,
and they have 3 young children. The
design is specific to their close-knit family needs as well as their rigorous
sustainability standards. The
architecture is contemporary, but it has warm, authentic materials and refined
details to accommodate a casual, unpretentious lifestyle.
The home's bent, linear configuration
divides the site; the public, street sides wrap the corner, creating a more
private interior. A breezeway leads to
the entry and the yard beyond, while also separating the main house from the
garage and studio. The second floor
bridges over these two and becomes the ceiling of the breezeway.
The lower part of the house has primary
walls of highly crafted rammed earth made with soil excavated from the
site. The upper floor, framed in wood
and steel, is clad in wood siding plus aluminum panels. Between the two is an 18-inch ribbon of glass
that admits soft light and views while making the upper floor appear as if it
is floating.
Layout
The home's Genkan
entry is a feature of Japanese houses.
Exterior stone paving extends into the entry, where shoes are removed. The interior floor steps up six inches. Living functions--kitchen, dining, family
room and office--inhabit the lower level, and all face a stone-paved courtyard
with a Callery Pear tree. The yard
beyond is landscaped with a synthetic lawn and drought-tolerant meadow
grasses. An L-shaped interior façade
with 65 feet of wood-framed, sliding glass doors, maximizes the indoor-outdoor
connection. Circulation is a continuous
flow that emphasizes the counterpoint between solid and open.
The second floor
contains a library plus three bedrooms and two bathrooms. An 80-foot long "gallery of light"
connects the bedrooms and bathrooms; its skylights and windows are designed to
animate the walls with geometric shapes derived from washes of light and
shadow.
The stairway
between floors is located where the house bends to form an angle. It leads up through an open space that
connects the library above to the home office below, with natural light
filtering in from the clerestory windows at the raised roof.
Across the
breezeway is the garage/studio building.
The studio is a general work space, but it also has a full kitchen and
bathroom for long-stay guests.
Landscape
The homeowners opted to install meadows and synthetic turf grass
rather than a traditional yard. The street sides are planted with a mix of
Japanese Maples, Ginkgos and native grasses to create a privacy buffer. The site interior is planned for playing and
outside living. Stone paving enhances
the indoor-outdoor connections close to the house. The artificial lawn requires no maintenance
and no water. The meadow beyond is laced
with an infinite path, shaped like a figure-eight.
All landscaping
is comprised of drought tolerant plants that can survive the hot Palo Alto
summers with little water. The
homeowners have planted a fully functional vegetable garden with citrus trees,
herb garden, organic fruits and vegetables, and large composting bins.
Sustainability Features
·
Roof-mounted
solar panels include a six-kilowatt photovoltaic array to generate electricity
and a thermal water panel array that provides domestic hot water. The latter also preheats the water for
radiant floors throughout the house.
·
A high-efficiency
gas boiler provides back-up heat in winter months.
·
A north-facing
light monitor (atop the two-story stair) brings in even, north light, with
operable windows to naturally flush the house of excess heat in the warm summer
months. This works in concert with the
low-story windows, which draw in fresh, cooler air for passive cooling.
·
Rammed-earth
walls are pneumatically-compacted, 16-inch thick walls that wrap around the
lower floors of the house. Soil from the
site comprises about 50 percent of the walls' content. In addition to being a sustainable material,
rammed earth has a thermal mass that helps modulate temperature fluctuations
throughout the year.
·
Concrete
foundations are made with 30% fly ash concrete.
·
All windows and
glass doors have low-e, high performance glazing, and most are operable for
natural ventilation.
The house was built on a
flat, downtown lot whose previous home was carefully deconstructed to minimize
waste.
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