Atherton Residence by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects
Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects have designed a home in Atherton, California.
Full description after the photos….
Photography by David Wakely
Atherton Residence by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects
Located on the peninsula south of San Francisco, this house sits on an internal suburban flag lot. The previous 1950’s house, which was removed due to structural problems, featured mature landscaping and a manmade pond that the clients wanted to preserve. They wanted their new house to be a private retreat that maximizes the drama of the pond and takes advantage of the privacy of the site. As advocates of year round outdoor dining and entertaining, the clients wanted a house that would open up to the landscape and have as many outdoor rooms as possible. The design solution breaks the program into four buildings – main house, study, pool house and garage – that ring the edge of the site and focus inwards on the pond, garden and pool. The main house features a butterfly roof that turns up to the south with a dramatic overhang. Large sliding glass doors open directly out to the pond and terrace. The roofs conceal photovoltaic and solar hot water panels. The house is heated with a radiant system in the stone floors, and despite the hot climate it is not air conditioned, but passively cooled with a combination of overhangs, shades, and operable windows. The house also features many green building materials, including high fly-ash concrete, formaldehyde-free casework and denim insulation. The new house creates a special place for the clients, making a main residence feel like a vacation retreat.
Location: Atherton, California
Year completed: 2008
Architect:
Eric Haesloop, FAIA, Mary Griffin, FAIA, and John Kleman
Interiors:
Margaret Turnbull Simon, ASID of Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
Landscape Architects:
Lutsko Associates
Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
1660 Bush Street, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 441-2300
www.tgharchitects.com
Engineer: Mike Forbes, Fratessa Forbes Wong
General Contractor: Carter Seddon, Carter Seddon Construction
Lance on 17 Oct 2009 at 10:44 am #
There was a little house in Key West that I’ve always loved that had a black L shaped pool framing the back of it.
This house takes that one feeling and expands upon it many times over. I would have to say this is my favorite home that I have seen on Contemporist so far. It’s size, scale, landscaping, etc. are all my taste/style. Plus it’s divided into zones, which I’ve always liked as well.
Stunning, simply stunning.
Rudy on 17 Oct 2009 at 10:58 am #
The combination of home and garden is simply stunning.
Connie on 17 Oct 2009 at 1:40 pm #
This is a beautiful house. It’s a real HOME.
I’m living in a house with floor to ceiling windows throughout (almost – not to the northern side) and wonder how some of the windows of THIS house are being cleaned. Several are directly above the water. I wonder what my professional window cleaners would do. Take a canoe? LOL
jwc3 on 17 Oct 2009 at 2:54 pm #
Very nice. I really like the large sliding glass doors, the way the water touches the house, and the landscaping. Wish we could have seen the kitchen, the bedrooms, and the floorplan. That TV in the living room looks to be mounted too high for comfortable viewing while seated.
pauole on 18 Oct 2009 at 11:58 am #
As I dream of designing and building my final home to spend my life in. I just learned someone has already taken my thoughts and built the home. I love it! Everything about it is simple and clean in design. Living indoors but feeling outdoors is what I love. Even though I despise camping, this is definitely not that.
Doug on 18 Oct 2009 at 12:29 pm #
nice “human” scale design. For me, it seems that the back and pool are seperate from the envirnment instead of integrated, other than that it is very well done.
Collby on 18 Oct 2009 at 6:02 pm #
It’s just amazing how the house blends in with the exterior and how the interior complements the exterior. Like in the living room… the garden is a beautiful painting for the living area.
Not pretentious at all. Very nice!
Tere on 19 Oct 2009 at 11:23 pm #
That is so cool! It’s like having a house on a pond or something.
I bet it’s cool there during summer.
Andy on 20 Oct 2009 at 3:25 am #
beautiful house, flows from inside out
Jesse on 27 Oct 2009 at 11:41 am #
Yummy soffits.
Rachal on 13 Dec 2009 at 9:25 pm #
What type of engineer works on a project such as this is?
Dave on 13 Dec 2009 at 10:11 pm #
A structural engineer