Belvedere Residence
Belvedere, Calif.
Fougeron Architecture

Natural terrain on a sloping site offers a backdrop for inspiration

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above.

This 6,500-square-foot house is sited on a steeply sloped piece of property that takes advantage of panoramic vistas and merges the house with the land. Two stone retaining walls are arranged parallel, creating slots of level ground in which light and transparent bars of living space are inserted. The walls, which stretch the full length of the site, are continuous from the interior to the exterior and form both the exterior spaces of the house and the living spaces inside. They reinforce the permeable relationship between inside and outside and span all floors vertically so that the three levels of the house are visibly interconnected.

A large slot cut in the back of the site against the first stone wall creates a dramatic courtyard and front entry sequence. Walking across a bridge over this courtyard to the front door of the house, visitors will be surrounded by birch trees; they will hear the sound of water that runs down a wall into the courtyard; and they will see through the translucent, marble-clad staircase to the living room and the Golden Gate bridge beyond.

The large dining room and living room volumes overhang the front stone wall. Its canted front glass facade, which wraps on the floor and the ceiling, reaches out towards the dramatic view beyond. The glass box office sits inside the volume and can be reached through the internal staircase or from a bridge from the street above.

The house is horizontally zoned with the office on the third floor at street level, the main living spaces on the second floor, and the bedrooms on the ground floor. All the spaces have outdoor access, an important amenity because of the mild California weather.

Formal name of building:
Belvedere Residence

Location:
Belvedere, Calif.

Gross Square Footage:
6,000 sq. ft.

Architect:
Fougeron Architecture
720 York Street, Suite 107
San Francisco, Ca 94110
Tel: 415.641.5744
Fax: 415.282.6434

Project Team:
Anne Fougeron, Michael Pierry, Todd Aranaz, Anne Tipp

Structural Engineer:
Endres Ware – Principal in charge: Paul Endres
2444 Spaulding Avenue
Berkeley, Ca 94703
Tel: 510.845.4533
Fax: 510.845.3906

Consultant - Landscape:
T. Delaney, Inc. – Principal in charge: Topher Delaney
156 Southpark Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107
Tel: 415.896.2998
Fax: 415.2995

Photographer(s) / Renderer(s):
Fougeron Architecture

CAD system, project management, or other software used:
VectorWorks www.nemetschek.net, FormZ www.formz.com , Photoshop www.adobe.com