The existing house located adjacent to vineyards in the small town of St. Helena is an eclectic combination of disparate pieces; the result of haphazard modifications and additions over the years. The westernmost portion of the house, originally a water tank, was built in the 1890’s as a freestanding farm building. Over the years, the farm had been subdivided and sold off, and the house expanded and remodeled. The program that the client brought to our office was to retrofit the house, retaining the historically significant elements, while creating a modern, light filled, and open interior environment.
Design studies resulted in the choice to use a simple barrel vaulted shape for the roof as it was found to create the most harmonious composition when juxtaposed with the combination of pitched roofs on the existing tower and detached garage. The barrel vault encloses a volume with high ceilings over the new living room and kitchen but is split in the middle to bracket a private deck notched at the upper level. The deck is an intermediary zone; visually connected by views to the interior of the house and yard below but shielded from harsh sun, wind and public view as a result of it’s inserted placement into the roof form.
The roof overhang on the southern exposure provides shading during the hottest months of the summer and a deep covered porch evoking the image of a traditional farmhouse from the street elevation. Glass doors and windows are placed on the eastern side of the house to connect the open interior space with the fenced side yard. The kitchen, living room, and breakfast area are oriented along this eastern wall to capture the morning light and serve as a transition zone between the yard and the more formal/private areas of the house. Natural daylighting and cooling strategies are integral to the design of the roof form and arrangement of the spaces. Clerestory windows located in the north wall and along the sides of the upper deck to provide indirect light and cross ventilation designed to keep the house cool and minimize the need for artificial light.
sustainable measures:
-natural daylighting
-passive solar/cooling
-rainwater collection
-photovoltaic solar panels
