New Modern Peninsula Home: Emerald Hills, Redwood City, California

This new 4,200 SF custom designed, modern residence is located on a wooded lot on the San Francisco Peninsula.  The client originally approached us to remodel her existing house.  The existing structure was in very poor condition and structurally failing in a number of locations.  The house was deemed unsafe and it could not be altered cost effectively. It was decided to deconstruct the existing house and build a new home.  The usable extracted materials were donated to nonprofit housing agencies to be used for other projects.

The owner wanted the new house design to have the capability to host large gatherings.  She is a serious cook, and she wanted to be able to cook both indoors and outside.  She wanted to make sure there were edible plantings incorporated into the landscape design as she wanted to grow some of her own food.  The original house, although in very poor condition, was private, and it was well positioned to capture the views to the valley and bay and the surrounding wooded landscape.  The client wanted these features to be carried through in the new house.

For the new house design, we set the main living area at the same elevation as the former residence to capture the view to the valley and bay.  The new kitchen was designed to be opened to the main living areas so that the activity of cooking could be integrated into the social activity.  An outdoor kitchen was created to support outdoor activities.  The secondary bedrooms and family room were tucked under the main level to maintain a low profile and stay within the required height limit.  We slid the lower floor forward to create a deck at the main level above.  The main level has a very large outside deck area at both the east and west sides of the house. These serve as large outdoor rooms ideal for entertaining.

Exterior cedar wood siding was used on the new house to blend in with the natural environment.  As is the case with most of our projects posted on our website, we selected the interior finishes as well.  On the project we were striking a balance between a clean contemporary approach to the architecture of the house and a warm livable space.  Large areas of decks and terraces flow easily between indoors and outdoors.  Both and indoor and outdoor kitchens were provided.  

All of the water from the roof areas and sub drainage is collected in a storm water collection basin on the north side of the property.  During a rain storm, the water is routed into the basin and, as it fills up, it spills out into a dry creek created to channel the water into a storm drainage retention pond at the lowest portion of the property.  The water then can percolate into the ground gradually as opposed to overwhelming the city's storm drain system. This approach to the water management allows for it to be diverted from the treatment plant.

The new home has achieved a Greenpoint rating of 82.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
Sierra West Builders, Inc.
Half Moon Bay, California

Structural Engineer:
Hohbach-Lewin, Inc.
Palo Alto, CA

Lighting Design:
Luminae Souter Associates
San Francisco, CA

Landscape Architect:
Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group
Half Moon Bay, California

Photographers:
Mark Trousdale
San Francisco, California
Ali Atri Photography
Menlo Park, California

DOWNLOADS
Jones AIA Exhibition
Jones Trends Article
Jones enLIGHTenment Magazine
Jones Post Card
Jones Green Features
Jones GreenPoint Certificate
New Modern Residence Project PDF

TUDOR STYLE WHOLE HOUSE RESTORATION, REMODEL, AND ADDITION, Crocker Highlands, Oakland, California

Phase 1:  New foundation and house re-leveling, restoration of exterior trim, new roofing and gutters, renovation of front landscaping.  Phase 2: New flooring, new fireplace surround, new electrical, plumbing, and heating systems, restoration interior plaster.  Phase 3: Remodel upper level bathroom.  Phase 4: Kitchen family room addition and remodel, expand master bedroom, convert half bath into full bath, create new library space, relocate laundry, renovate rear garden.

SITUATION

This traditional Tudor style, late 1920’s residence is located in the Crocker Highlands neighborhood in Oakland.  This East Bay neighborhood was laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead, the well known landscape architect.  The streets follow the natural contours of the land in the spirit of English garden suburbs.  The traditional homes in the area are unique in style which adds greatly to the neighborhood character.

The house had settled extensively over the years.  Although many of the original traditional details of the house were largely intact, the house suffered from a lack of maintenance for many years. It was out of level as much as six inches in some rooms.  Historical investigation revealed that the area was plagued with settlement issues during the life of the development.  Contributing factors were the less rigorous site preparation measures at the time that the house was originally constructed, and the creek bed soil conditions were not the ideal material to build on.  Luckily, the soil had completed most of its settling and was fairly stable in the present day.  Nonetheless, an extensive whole house remodel would be required.

ACTION

A master plan was developed and broken into project phases to spread out the cost of the project over time.  The goal was to level up the house with a new foundation, update infrastructural systems, and restore as many of the original traditional details of the house as possible. Eventually a major reconfiguration of the back end of the house would be completed which included a new kitchen/great room space.

A soils engineer was consulted to determine the best course of action for the new foundation system.  There was a small utility basement space under the house that was well constructed and could remain.  The remaining house foundation was replaced and it was decided to level up the house as well in the process.  The leveling process was complicated by the existing masonry fireplace that the owner wished to preserve.

During the leveling process, all of the interior plaster cracked, as expected, and needed extensive repair.  Before repairing the plaster, it was decided to upgrade the electrical system.  The heating system was old and undersized, and that had to be replaced as well.  New hand distressed hardwood flooring was installed.  Most of the existing interior wood picture mold and base boards were replaced as well.  The existing wood shake roof was at the end of its functional life, therefore it too was replaced. While the roofing was installed, new copper gutters were incorporated into new exterior fascia trims.

After the infrastructural improvements were completed, a bathroom remodel project was executed on the upper level. The last phase of the master plan was a major kitchen/great room renovation and addition at the rear of the house.  Three existing rooms were combined and an additional five feet was added to the rear of the house to create the new space.  The goal was to open up the rear of the house to the garden and let in the natural light and create an easy flow into the garden.  The garden was also extensively renovated to relate to the new improvements in the house.

RESULT

This extensively remodeled house is now sitting on a stable foundation to modern standards.  All new heating and electrical systems were installed to modern standards.  New landscaping was installed to complement the architectural features of the house and the existing mature landscape present on the site.  The restored house retains its original traditional craftsman detailing, character, and charm.  The completed project functions and flows much more efficiently and has a better relationship to the exterior gardens.  Natural light was brought in more extensively to some of the darker spaces of the house, thermal comfort was improved along with the structural integrity.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

Structural Engineer rear addition
SEMCO Engineering
San Francisco, CA

Structural Engineer new foundation
Adept Engineering
San Francisco, CA

Landscape Design
Katherine Webster, MLA
San Francisco, CA

Foundation Contractor
ESR
Walnut Creek, CA

Bathroom Contractor
CBC General Contractors
Walnut Creek, CA

Kitchen/Family Room Contractor
Mini Construction
Diablo, CA

Soils Engineer
Hallenbeck/Allwest Associates
Pleasant Hill, CA

Finish carpentry
Victor Harris Construction Company
Oakland, CA

Electrical Contractor:
Pat Sisler
Concord, CA

Heating Contractor:
Absolute Air
Martinez, CA

Photographer:
Michell Shenker Photography
Novato, CA

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Small Firms Great Projects
Trestle Glen Project PDF
Five best architects article

East Bay Ranch House Makeover  Fremont, California

The owners of this house asked us to help them with a complete makeover of the main living areas of their ranch-style house. They had already completed a remodel of two bathrooms and experienced the frustration of not having a thoroughly thought-out idea of what they wanted before they started construction. When they choose us to do the project, we could see they valued the careful and thoughtful design approach we promote. They were ideal clients and allowed us to guide them through the entire process from designing the layout, developing a comprehensive interior design, preparing thorough construction documents, assisting in the contractor selection, and being actively involved throughout the entire construction process.

The project required tackling three main objectives: to open up the main living areas including the kitchen, fix an enclosed courtyard with leaky skylights, and reconfigure and enlarge the existing laundry space. As part of the design process, we sought to improve the basic flow of the living space, create a more functional layout, and introduce more natural light opportunities.

As stated above, the main focus for the project involved the main living areas. We created one large consolidated space for the living room and kitchen and opened the view from that room to the newly refurbished rear garden area. We raised the ceiling in the main living space and incorporated several lighting sources to add the ability to create different lighting moods within the space. We added much needed storage areas along the hallways as well as in the entertainment center and kitchen space.

One area of concern involved fixing an enclosed courtyard that had leaking skylights. The skylights had been added by a previous owner to enclose the former outdoor space that was located in the middle of the house. The owners wanted to remodel the space so that it was more integrated into the house as an interior space, something the previous owner tried to do unsuccessfully. Our solution started with designing a new skylight system that would provide a more reliable barrier to the heat and water intrusion. We used a commercial product that was designed for large span locations. This product also had a nice way of filtering the light. In this new space, we were able to provide storage (shelves and cabinets) for the owners to organize their collections of books and objects.

We also recommended a landscape architect and coordinated their work with ours in order to create an inviting and easy flow between the interior and outdoor spaces. The rear yard was completely reconfigured with a new swimming pool, hardscape, planting, and outdoor lighting.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
Forrest Bodily Home Improvement
Fremont, CA 94536

Structural Engineer:
Element Structural Engineers, Inc.
Newark, CA 94560

Landscape Architect:
Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group
Half Moon Bay, CA

Photographer:
Mitch Shenker Photography
Novato, CA

Pacific Heights/Cow Hollow Apartment Remodel  San Francisco, California

Our client purchased an apartment on the top floor of an old 1930’s building with expansive views of the San Francisco Bay from the palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, to Alcatraz Island. The existing apartment retained some of the original detailing and the owner wished to enhance and build on the existing traditional themes that existed there. We reconfigured the apartment to add another bedroom, relocated the kitchen, and remodeled the remaining spaces.

The design included moving the kitchen to free up space to add an additional bedroom. We also did the interior design and detailing for the two existing bathrooms. The master bath was reconfigured entirely.

We detailed and guided the selection of all of the fixtures, finishes and lighting design for a complete and integrated interior design of all of the spaces.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
D. V. Rasmussen & Son, Inc.
Novato, CA 94945

Photographer:
Michell Shenker Photography
Novato, CA

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INTERIOR REMODEL IN HIGH RISE BUILDING, San Francisco, California

This interior design project is located in a residential high rise building in San Francisco with spectacular views from every room.  The renovation included two bedrooms, two bathrooms, installing a new laundry hookup, a new kitchen, and living room with built-in entertainment cabinets, a library niche, and various other built features.

Prior to moving to this location the clients lived in a craftsman style house in Berkeley and owned many craftsman style furnishings. Their initial thought was that they would need to get rid of the furnishings as they would not fit well stylistically in new modern environment.  We suggested an eclectic approach to the interior design that would integrate their existing collection of furnishings with this new modern setting.

In addition, the client wanted to open up the kitchen/breakfast area to the main living room space to maximize the view out to the living room and the City beyond.  To help unify the various remodeled spaces, we created soffits at the ceiling in the main living areas.  The soffits also provide a raceway to route the electrical wiring.  Our services also included the lighting design for the new space.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
Scott and Warner Builders, Inc.
Sausalito, CA

Photographer:
Michell Shenker Photography
Novato, CA

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Trends Magazine Article

WHOLE HOUSE REMODEL, LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA
Kitchen remodel, dining and family room remodel, entertainment center addition, bathrooms remodel

The original house was built in the 1970’s in Lafayette, California and had suffered from a series of very bad remodels.  Each added remodel was poorly integrated into the adjacent construction. The house was sited in a beautiful hillside setting surrounded by mature oak trees.  There were many decks that surrounded the house but there was a very poor connection between the interior of the house and the exterior environment. The kitchen and bathrooms needed updating.

We developed various whole house remodel studies to open up the house to the exterior and to reorganize the interior spaces.  Our master plan for the changes included a phased approach.  To save on the costs, the owners decided to do very minimum exterior changes and to concentrate the work on the main level of the house.  We developed a plan to completely transform the main level with remodeled bathrooms, new interior furnishes, a new front entry door, a new remodeled kitchen and dining area, and a completely remodeled family room with a new entertainment center.

The completed renovation of the main level of the house is a complete transformation of the exiting interior spaces with a new contemporary design with clean lines and warm interiors.  The renovated kitchen included larger windows overlooking the rear deck and oak trees.  The new custom cabinetry in the kitchen and family room areas are visually related so that the interior spaces have a much more integrated appearance.

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CREDITS

General Contractor:
Juan Carlos Maceda
San Pablo CA

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

Interior Colors and Finishes:
Applegate Tran Interiors
San Francisco, CA

Photographer:
Mark Trousdale
San Francisco, CA

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Lafayette House Remodel PDF

WHOLE HOUSE REMODEL AND ADDITION, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Phase one remodel and addition to living, family, dining, and kitchen areas.  Phase two front facade remodel with new windows. Phase three remodel to existing master bath.

SITUATION
The client wanted to remodel the living, dining, and kitchen areas in this San Francisco residence to create a more usable and fluid space that would also allow for the display of his art collection. The main living area was small and cramped.  The deck and panoramic view of the ocean were only visible through small windows facing west.  The small kitchen area lacked sufficient counter space but included a breakfast eating area.  Situated in the corner of the living area, the existing fireplace appeared awkward and inaccessible. The heating system on the upper floor level needed to be improved.  In a second phase project, the client wanted to update and refinish the front of the house. A final project involved a gut and complete remodel of the master bathroom.

ACTION
For the first phase project, the client was willing to sacrifice some deck space on the western side of the house to gain more interior space.  A new addition built five feet out from the back wall was crafted primarily of doors and windows opening to the deck and panoramic views. The small addition allowed for a more spacious living area and the expansion of the remodeled kitchen and dining room. We opened up the wall between the dining and living areas and designed the kitchen to flow into the dining space. Re-positioning the fireplace was a challenge, as we had to navigate the flue up without interfering with the level above. We wanted to integrate the fireplace with an art display and lighting, but the space provided few options.  We designed custom cabinets to satisfy the storage and display needs and used the cabinets to visually tie the entire open space together. To accommodate the required additional heating ducts needed in the ceiling, we created a wood-finished soffit at the perimeter of the ceiling which also helped to visually tie the open space together.

The second phase project gave us an opportunity to give the front of the building an entirely different and updated appearance.  We simply built out a new wall in front of the existing wall and reconfigured the windows to accomplish this transformation.

The third project involved redoing the master bath.  The remodeled bath was designed with a clean, contemporary look.  Storage was provided in the wall behind the toilet and in the built in medicine cabinets.

RESULT
The completed living area is both functionally and visually more spacious with a contemporary yet warm look.  The display cabinets, fireplace, and renovated kitchen areas are more integrated with each other.  The proportions, repetition, and rhythm of various contemporary architectural elements of the interior space create a sense of order.  The new kitchen, though expanded only minimally, is much more functional with added storage and counter space.  The wood soffit also helps tie the various elements of the room together into a more integrated whole. The remodeled front facade provides a much needed update to the existing house.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
van der Sterre Construction
San Francisco, CA

Cabinet Maker:
J W Sellars Furniture
San Francisco, CA

Structural Engineer:
Gerald Lang and Associates
San Francisco, CA

Photographer:
Mark Trousdale
San Francisco, CA
Mitchell Shenker
Novato, CA

DOWNLOADS
Serra Exhibit SFGP 2005
Serra Article
SF Remodel PDF

NEW MODERN HOME  Oakland (Montclair neighborhood), California

SITUATION
The owner’s original three-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house was completely destroyed in the Oakland Hills fire of 1991 in Oakland, California.  The very steep down-sloping lot has panoramic views of the five bay bridges, but the small lot greatly restricts the floor plan footprint as well as the height that is allowed by the Planning Code. The owner wanted to rebuild a new home, taking advantage of the views and cost-efficiently maximizing the space.

ACTION
Due to the nature of the small lot size and situation, combined with cost concerns, we developed a new house design that had a compact and efficient footprint at 2,000 square feet of living space plus a 500 square foot garage.  The floor plans had minimum space dedicated to circulation alone.  We also stacked the new house vertically to minimize the size of the overall footprint, creating a more efficient envelope and keeping structural costs down. The living and dining areas needed to be relatively small but we wanted to create a feeling of spaciousness, so we combined the spaces to make them fluid and open. Two-story ceilings in the kitchen and entry contributed to the sense of openness and space.

RESULT
This steep Oakland hillside lot also presented a challenge connecting the street to the garage and house entry. To avoid an unsightly stand-alone garage structure, we placed the garage at the top of the new house and connected it with a poured-in-place concrete bridge to the street.  The bridge was designed to be more than utilitarian, containing a bench and also serving as the main access to the house. Terraces off the main living areas and bedrooms connect the house structure and surrounding areas.  The design of the new house reflects craftsman and Mediterranean themes with a contemporary feel.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
Stokes Russell Hayden
Berkeley, CA

Structural Engineer: 
Anand Nene Structural Engineer
Oakland, CA

Landscape Design: 
Patricia O'Brien Landscape Architects
San Francisco, CA

Photographer: 
Mark Trousdale
San Francisco, CA

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Exhibition Catalog
Petkewich Article
New Residence PDF

Tiny Home Restoration  El Cerrito, California

Complete restoration of an existing 1 bedroom/1 bath cabin/cottage in the El Cerrito Hills. The entire house was remodeled inside and out. The main living spaces were opened to create a more spacious interior. The house was raised to capture a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and a new entry porch was added to the front entry. All of the exterior siding was removed and replaced. The interior was gutted and walls removed to create the main greatroom space. The house is to be used for the owner's consulting business but would still function very well as a residence in the future.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

General Contractor:
Bell Construction
Oakland, CA

Photographer:
Mitch Shenker Photography
Novato, CA

DOWNLOADS
Home Builder Digest

Easy Bay ADU  Oakland, California

A new ADU was added to the rear of an existing detached garage on a hillside lot in the Crocker Highlands neighborhood of Oakland. The goal was to create the new space in the hillside location without losing too much of the valuable level patio space. It was decided to partially bury the addition into the hillside to preserve the patio space. Much attention was paid to integrating the new ADU with the existing garage structure. A priority was to arrange the space so that as much privacy was preserved between the existing main house and the new ADU.

The exterior of the ADU was designed to relate to the Tudor style main house, but the ADU has a more modern interior design. The interior layout was arranged to be multifunctional as the owners wanted to use the unit as extra space for their personal use as a home office, exercise studio, and occasional guest room for visitors. The ADU rules in most jurisdictions allow for this personal use as an option. Careful consideration was also given in the design so that the unit can also function well as a rental.

The interior space consists of 280 square feet: a 10.5’ x 13’ room with a kitchenette, as well as a full bath. The main room has a raised ceiling that adds a spacious feeling to this relatively small space. As with most of our projects, we did the interior design including all finishes and lighting design.

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CREDITS

Architecture and Interior Design:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, California

Structural Engineer:
SEMCO Engineering
San Francisco, CA

General Contractor:
Zanderbuilt Construction
Berkeley, CA

Photographer:
Kaplan Architects
San Francisco, CA

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San Francisco ADU  San Francisco, California

This project entailed the creation of 3 new ADU living units in an existing five unit building in the North Beach neighborhood in San Francisco. Two of the units were to be created in the existing basement, a challenging location to create a proper living unit in the best circumstances. The third unit was to convert an existing retail shop shop space, that had not be rented in many years, into the third unit. Creating these three units to meet all of the local and state codes was a big challenge and required using three different channels that were created by the San Francisco Planning Department to make these extra units feasible under the new zoning codes for ADU creation.

Additionally, the building had to undergo a soft story seismic upgrade. This additional aspect facilitated one of the unit’s creation under a special program to encourage ADU creation during a seismic improvement project.

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CREDITS

Structural Engineer:
SEMCO Engineering
San Francisco, CA

General Contractor:

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