Self-built by the owner’s family, this concrete house overlooks the Pacific Ocean just south of San Francisco. Located on a small hillside site with stringent community zoning restrictions, the home gently contorts to maximize light and view within the complex zoning envelope and design restrictions. The frequently fogbound and chilly site required a sheltering form to provide pleasant indoor/outdoor living, as well as maximum sheltered glazing to bring in sunlight over the shoulder from the rear of the house. For simplicity of appearance and minimization of cost and resource consumption, the house is constructed of just two primary materials inside and out—hammered, site-cast concrete, and sustainably-harvested Peruvian redwood imported and milled on site by the owners. The 12” thick concrete walls are cast monolithically with rigid foam insulation between two reinforced layers of concrete, affording a massive wall exposed inside and out. Windows, doors, flooring and millwork are hand built and finished by the owners on site. The main ceiling is an arcing plane of Peruvian redwood paneling warped from one end to the other in order to follow the natural street slope at the front of the home while tipping down to minimize sunlight shadowing of the uphill property at the rear of the home. A glass clerestory box pierces this warping roof plane, creating a stairway, light and ventilation shaft through the center of the home, and providing access to a roof deck with provisions for concealed photo-voltaic and solar hot water equipment.

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