2022 RDAA | Architectural Details | Nineteenth Street Residence | Sidell Pakravan Architects

With its lofty views of the San Francisco skyline, this otherwise banal apartment unit was ripe for reinvention. Low‑ceilinged and spatially uninspired, it was transformed with the insertion of two rectangular walnut volumes. One volume defines the vertical circulation; the other envelopes a living area that breaks through the roof to a new penthouse and outdoor terrace.

“The original unit, built in the 1970s, had many rooms. They wanted to create more openness, but without making one big space like an urban loft,” says Rudabeh Pakravan, AIA. She wrapped the floor and ceiling in walnut to create a warm living and dining space that floats within the floor plan, bounded by a walnut storage wall on one end and a solid walnut island on the other. “It’s all very visually connected, but you still feel like you’re walking into the living room,” she says.

An open-riser staircase with solid­walnut treads extends that volume up to the wood-clad penthouse. Henrybuilt paneling from the kitchen was used on the walls and ceilings of both insertions. “It was important to keep the stairs feeling as light as possible,” says Rudabeh. “We had a complex structural detail of a steel stringer in the wall and welded steel treads.”

“It is definitely a beautiful stair that required a lot of decisions,” a judge said approvingly.




Citation

Architectural Details

Sidell Pakravan Architects

Nineteenth Street Residence

San Francisco

Project Credits

Architect: Rudabeh Pakravan, AIA, Sidell Pakravan Architects, Berkeley, California

Builder: Lemma Construction, San Francisco

Project size: 2,500 square feet

Site size: 5,000 square feet

Construction cost: $750 per square foot

Photography: Laurian Ghinitoiu for Henrybuilt


Key Products

Cabinetry/Casework: Henrybuilt

Cooktop: Wolf

Entry doors: Golden Gate Door and Window

Faucets: Dornbracht

Lighting: Tech Element

Pavers/patio/retaining walls: HandyDeck

Radiant Heating: Warmboard

Structural: Simpson Strong Frame
Moment Frame

Toilets: TOTO

Vanities/Pedestal Lavs: custom concrete, Henrybuilt

Windows: Bonelli Doors + Windows

Window Wall Systems: LaCantina