San Francisco, California, USA
Conceived as a modern interpretation of the traditional Victorian townhouse, the Art House project designed by Aidlin Darling Design is a contemporary home that honors the legacy of craftsmanship within the Bay Area.
For its ecological design, the house was awarded with a 2021 Green Good Design® Award by The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum.
Its design is a direct response to the client’s desire for a home that frames an expanding art collection and captures the remarkable views provided by the site.
Situated on a sloping hillside, the home’s exterior has two distinct personalities.
The front facade is modest in scale, taking proportional ques from the neighboring homes.
The proportioning lines were abstracted and subtly sculpted as if a bas-relief.
The materials were specifically chosen to age gracefully and embody permanence. Poured-in-place concrete masses are complemented by a delicate brise-soleil.
This wooden solar shade performs multiple functions: it first acts as a privacy screen from the sidewalk; secondly, the slatted shade affords views of the scenic, tree-lined street while mitigating heat and solar glare.
The rear facade is four stories of glass that provide panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and the Palace of Fine Arts.
The lowest floor opens to a landscaped oasis that breaks up into three smaller gardens as the terrain follows the hillside.
Compositionally, the home is a series of massive concrete planes and rich wood floors that play counterpoint to the full-height windows and doors. These openings act as sculpting tools for the variable light conditions.
The brise-soleil transforms harsh southern sunlight into a filigree of light and shadow, simultaneously providing passive light and reducing artificial lighting. Raking light streams through the slot windows, transforming stairs into a textural experience.
The sequence into the home creates an intentional contrast between scale and texture. Two concrete walls form an intimate pathway toward the heroic front door.
Entering the home, one encounters a dramatic, two-story dining and living room that frames the San Francisco Bay views.
Inside, the warmth of the hand-scraped oak floors complements the permanence of the smooth-formed concrete walls.
Suspended above the dining table is a thirteen-foot-tall sculpture that doubles as a dining pendant. This custom interactive art installation is a series of floating glass tubes that evoke a flock of birds in flight.
The design focused not on creating a 25-year home but a 200-year home — one that is impeccably crafted out of materials that will age gracefully.
This home embraced the opportunity to design to all the human senses: not just the visual, but also the tactile, olfactory, and auditory.
Architects: Aidlin Darling Design
Client: Private
Photographers: Matthew Millman Photography
