Palo Alto, California, USA
The C-Through House, designed by John Klopf with contributions from ZFA Structural Engineers, Outer Space Landscape Architects, and constructed by Coast to Coast Development, maximizes floor space on a compact Palo Alto lot.
Conceived of as a C-shaped house with a small private courtyard and a large private rear yard, this new house maximizes the floor area available to build on this smaller Palo Alto lot.
An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) integrated into the main structure gave a floor area bonus. For now it will be used for visiting relatives.
One challenge of this design was keeping a low profile and proportional design while still meeting the FEMA flood plain requirement that the finished floor start about 3′ above grade.
The new house has four bedrooms (including the attached ADU), a separate family room with a window seat, a music room, a prayer room, and a large living space that opens to the private small courtyard as well as a large covered patio at the rear.
Mature trees around the perimeter of the lot were preserved, and new ones planted, for private indoor-outdoor living.
Project: C-Through House
Architects: Klopf Architecture
Design Team: John Klopf, Angela Todorova, and Lucie Danigo
Structural Engineers: ZFA Structural Engineers
Landscape Architects: Outer Space Landscape Architects
Contractor: Coast to Coast Development
Photographers: Mariko Reed