The house began its life in 1949 as a modest four-room row house on one of the steepest streets in San Francisco’s Noe Valley. Dramatically expanded with two new floor levels, the building is now home to an active family of five with ample space for guests, parties, and projects.
Design concept and solution: The original structure was retained and wrapped in a veil of cedar pickets at the street that do triple duty as garage door, privacy screen, and guardrail. The house was then stretched back into the slope of the hill to establish a podium of bedrooms and service areas. Above, an open floor of living space extends through glass walls to the garden and panoramic view. Suspended overhead like the hull of a ship (and the reason the house has been nicknamed “the Vessel”), a facetted cedar bedroom suite hangs between giant skylights that draw sunlight into the center of the home below.
The result of a tight collaboration between client and architect, the now 4,200-square-foot house has been a labor of love for the owners who served as the builders and obsessed over every detail.
Architect:
Kennerly Achitecture & Planning
375 Alabama Street
San Francisco, California
415.285.2880
www.kennerlyarchitecture.com
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