86
Inspired West Coast Homes
ROTATED MODERN
Atherton, CA
On a relatively modest and oddly shaped parcel skewed to the
street, a single-family home moderates between organizing
axes by shifting the building grid between levels. At the
interior of the house, the finishes are pared down to a neutral
palette to allow the architectural elements to shine. European
oak, white walls, exposed concrete, and no trim all reinforce the
architectural aspect of the space. Profuse light from oversized
windows and the second-floor atrium window fills the space to
further accentuate the sculptural creation. The central interior
helical staircase, set at the rotation point of the orthogonal
structure of the house, allows this shift to work seamlessly.
The three-story staircase atrium acts as the central element
through which all the circulation feeds, allowing the 'spin"
off this point to feel comfortable and effortless. The exterior
of the house is clad in contrasting materials to reinforce
the geometric shift. The ground floor is wrapped in a heavy,
rough, white Texas limestone, while the hovering, rotated
floor above, including the roof, is a homogenous element of
a strongly contrasting, lighter-weight, black matte-finished,
standing seam metal cladding. The large, exposed roof area
of the main floor is covered in a green geometric pattern.
Photographs by Mariko Reed
Designed by Mark Horton / Architecture,
San Francisco, CA, page 214
