The 6,300-sf Stevens Library at Sacred Heart Schools in is the first library in the USA and the first school building in California to achieve the International Living Future Institute’s Net Zero Energy Building Certification. It was part of the PG&E ZNE Pilot Project which also found it consumed less energy than it generated and is on track for LEED® Platinum and Petal Certifications.
Tucked away in the mountains and nestled into a high alpine forest, the design responds to the owners’ desire for a modernist, rather secluded refuge with a constant visual reference to nature. The site is, in this sense, rather atypical to a mountain setting in that it minimizes expansive lookouts, while in fact emphasizing views towards the glade intimacy of the adjacent landscape, thus allowing for the remote and sheltered retreat the clients were seeking.
The 2 Bar home in Menlo Park, California represents a very cost-conscious design and implementation of green materials and technologies for a couple with two young children. The new residence replaced an awkward and inefficient structure with a smart, sustainable, open home that embraced the family’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle.
Klopf Architecture, Growsgreen Landscape Design, and Flegel’s Construction partnered to bring this mid-century atrium Eichler home up to 21st century standards. One owner’s mother grew up in an Eichler, which gave them a deeper appreciation for the style of the home (that same mother is also responsible for the Eichler quilt in the master bedroom photo). They loved Eichlers, so while they wanted the house to work better for their family and provide a little more elbow room, they also dreamed of living in a colorful warm mid-century modern home with natural wood like the original Eichlers. They entrusted Klopf Architecture to respectfully expand and update the home, while still keeping it “classic”. The Klopf team helped them open up the kitchen, dining, and living spaces into one flowing great room, expand the master suite, replace the kitchen and bathrooms, and provide additional features like an office and powder room, all while maintaining the mid-century modern style of this Silicon Valley home.
Article source: The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
As the first new building constructed in San Francisco’s transformative Transbay Redevelopment Area, Rene Cazenave Apartments (RCA) sets a high standard for future development by replacing a parking lot and former freeway off-ramp with innovative and neighborhood supporting housing and supportive services as a permanent home for formerly chronically homeless residents, many who have physical and mental disabilities.
Article source: The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
The client’s commitment to environmental stewardship initiated the challenge for the design team to create a net-zero energy (NZE) laboratory for its new West Coast research institute, which resulted in a 44,607 SF building comprised of a single-story laboratory wing and a threestory office / administrative wing framing a central courtyard, all sitting above a below-grade parking structure for 112 cars. The new facility was designed to achieve LEED-Platinum certification and a net-zero energy footprint, making it the first such biological laboratory in the country. The courtyard serves as the heart of the Institute, drawing researchers across and into the collaborative outdoor space. The project uses a modest palette of materials: highperformance glazing, Spanish cedar wood, and high-strength concrete. Each material was considered for its contribution to the enhancement of the building’s performance, resulting in a building that is both functional and artful in its simplicity.
Article source: The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
The Exploratorium is an internationally known science museum focused on hands-on exhibits of natural phenomena. They recently moved to this new location, carefully restoring the historic Pier 15 on San Francisco’s downtown waterfront. Visitors can now experience 80,000 square feet of science exhibits in the historic structure, with new cafes and event space located in the contrasting modern glazed observatory with unobstructed views of San Francisco Bay. The building also offers a theatre, more than a dozen classrooms, labs, and teacher training rooms, wood and metal workshops, two retail stores, offices, and a large outdoor plaza.
Located on a remote beach, the ruins of a former industrial site inspired us to create a sea-side house inspired by the industrial era. Reviving the existing layout has been one of our main concerns while trying to integrate the residential function into the industrial setting with its ragged appearance. However, fitting the new building into the amazing surrounding and making the best of the views it has to offer led us through the design process.
This barn was constructed in the early 1900’s adjacent to the old NW Pacific Railroad right-of-way. Although, it once was a horse stable, It has been used as a garage and guest house until recently when it sustained significant damage from burst water pipes.
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