Considering this Portola Valley home in the San Francisco Bay Area, a member of the judging panel commented, “There’s a little sublime moment with that screen in front.” That’s precisely what the architects at Schwartz and Architecture were aiming for.
As part of a phased renovation of a 1950s California ranch house, the architects tackled the garage and its existing second-floor addition. To turn the upper floor into a primary suite, they put the bedroom at the back, facing the view; they placed the bathroom on the front, so it could access plenty of natural light. The bath looks serenely onto a small courtyard, which is shielded from the road with a black-painted cedar screen.
Because this two-story volume was the preeminent front-facing element, the architects wanted to give it a welcoming façade. The sublime touch: a concave oval in the screen that appears and disappears depending on your viewing angle. “We put time and craft and money into this one distinctive optical effect,” says Neal Schwartz, FAIA. “It provides a lot of bang for your buck.”
The ribs that form the roughly 6×4-foot oval shape were carved on-site and refined by sanding after installation. The oval is repeated in an open-air oculus at the top of the stair leading to the suite. “Ovals can appear to be perfect circles because of the foreshortening of perspective,” notes Neal. “As you move around them, their true shape is revealed.”
Citation | Architectural Details
S^A | Schwartz and Architecture
Portola Valley Home
Portola Valley, California
Project Credits
Architect: Neal Schwartz, FAIA, founder; Laura Huylebroeck, principal, Wyatt Arnold, principal, S^A | Schwartz and Architecture, San Francisco
Builder: Portola Valley Builders, Portola Valley, California
Structural engineer: Gregory Paul Wallace, Emeryville, California
Project size: 3,653 square feet
Site size: 1.08 acre
Construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Bruce Damonte
Key Products
Appliances: Best, Miele, Sub-Zero, True, Wolf
Doors/door hardware: Bonelli Doors + Windows
Faucets: Grohe, Hansgrohe
Fireplace: Rasmussen
Interior lighting: Foscarini, Hem
Sinks: Julien, Kohler
Toilets: TOTO
Windows: Bonelli Doors + Windows