California-based architectural firm Swatt Miers Architects have designed the Garay House.
Completed in 2010, this contemporary home is located in Tiburon, California, USA.
Garay House by Swatt Miers Architects:
“The owners had lived in Tiburon, California for many years, dreaming of one day transforming their low, one-story home into a setting befitting their spectacular site perched above San Francisco Bay. Their dreams began to be realized in 2005 with the design of a 2000 square-foot addition, coupled with the complete renovation of their existing 3,200 square-foot house.
The site is a half-acre south-facing hillside parcel, with unobstructed views of San Francisco Bay to the south, east and west. Responding to the physical conditions of the site, the new house is almost entirely opaque on the north side where a new entrance motor court is defined by a rhythm of five ‘free-standing’ stone-clad walls. Slivers of glass separate the stone panels, creating a strong rhythm while giving little hint of the extraordinary spaces and views on the other side.
The progression of space begins with a low, compressed entry, leading to a higher circulation spine. Bathed in light from clerestory windows and skylights, the spine overlooks the new living, dining and kitchen ‘pavilion’, and new south-facing terraces, with world-class views of San Francisco Bay beyond. Frameless glazing, pocketing glass doors, and dramatic cantilevered roof extensions seamlessly connect interior space to exterior space, blurring the boundary between two.”
Photos by: Russell Abraham
