Event announcement! On Saturday, October 12 in San Francisco, Levy Art + Architecture is being featured in a new series of home tours showcasing the talents of exceptional interior designers throughout North America, as part of the GRAY x MA+DS Interior Design Tour.
Come and see our Miter House on Kansas Street up close and personal, ask us questions or just enjoy the full-height frameless views of San Francisco, cozy fireplaces and unique central stairwell that mimics a sundial throughout the day.
As you approach this home, the façade that appears to be solid is revealed as a series of layers. A combed stone outer cladding gives way to a smooth plaster layer that, in turn, sits atop a shear layer of windows and taught corner glass. This is a representation of our clients: private people who become familiar over time.
Update: Miter House has been nominated for ArchDaily’s Building of the Year Contest! VOTE now through February 15, 2023 to help get this project to the final round.
The space of the home is similar. A slow reveal is based on an up-and-over movement across the site, and there’s an idea of two structures, front and back. Entering on the ground level, you ascend two broad steps to a central platform.
This “space between” houses the central stair.
The stair accesses a reverse plan: entry and gymnasium below, bedrooms between, living spaces atop. It’s capped by a roof deck. Materials define interior spaces. Maple slats and brass clad walls work together to define the central space, filter and reflect light, an experiential relationship that, like the façade, reveals itself through time. Each side of the structure has its own character and its own view, the front facing east defined by morning light and downtown views through mitered corner windows. The back faces west, the sunset and Twin Peaks viewed through operable glass walls that expand the floor area for indoor-outdoor functions. Two houses joined by a central spine and revealing themselves through time.
We successfully navigated this project through San Francisco city planning and a rigorous design review process.
“Ross and his team did a fabulous job on both the architecture and design touches for our new home in SF. Ross listened deeply to our goals for the project, but offered his expert eye and judgment to create something far better than if he’d simply done exactly as asked. We’re thrilled with the results and frequently see passers by stopping to admire his work. Unusual for a talented architect, Ross has a deep understanding of and respect for the craft of building—that knowledge was invaluable for many key decisions we faced. When a materials price spike made a highly visible staircase cost-prohibitive, Ross came up with a creative solution we love! Equally important, he orchestrated that oh so vital “dance” among planning department, neighbors, and contractor. We loved LAA’s vision and aesthetic, but none of it means a thing if you can’t get it built. Ross’s ability to bring all the parties along was critical to the success of the project. We choose LAA for their architectural and design talent, but we did not realize just how critical all these other skills are to getting what you really want—a home you love.”
Architect: Ross Levy (Levy Art + Architecture) Project Team: Michael Ageno, Patrick Donato, Shirin Monshipouri (Levy Art + Architecture) Interior Architect / Designer: Frances Weiss (Levy Art + Architecture) Contractor: Colm Brennan at Stronghold Construction Structural Engineer: Daedalus Engineering Photographer: Joe Fletcher
Sq ft:3,707 Completed: 2020 All-new construction Architecture + interior architecture by Levy Art + Architecture
A beachside getaway for a repeat client – an SF family of four – Queen is an impressive clifftop home in Bolinas, CA overlooking the ocean and the Duxberry Reef Tide Pools.
We worked with this client previously on their primary home in San Francisco. They approached us after purchasing this property and asked us to review it. They were originally contemplating simple upgrades, but we created a larger vision together – navigating design, permissions, and coordinating throughout construction.
This project is about connections. The original structure consisted of two separate, elevated masses, a small house and adjacent decks. We stitched these two disparate pieces together, inside and out, to create a singular expression in exterior form and flowing interior spaces. The central element that binds the two sides together is a three-story glass wall. It connects the two buildings at the hinge point, creating a clear point of entry. The multi-paned composition is made of different colors and textures in reference to the beachfront location and the sea glass found there.
Entering this double height space, an open stairwell signals that the main living spaces are on the top floor. Here, the panoramic view of the coastline from San Francisco to the Farallon islands is unimpeded. As with the exterior, we brought the two sides of the house together to create a single, open living environment that combines kitchen, living and dining. A deck that runs the length of the house completes the side-to-side connection, and a new stair brings you from the upper deck to the lower deck with integrated hot tub. From there, you walk down directly to the bluff outside, connecting the living spaces to the landscape.
On the middle level there are two bedrooms and a bath. A gracious primary suite has a bank of windows that looks out to sea. The primary bath includes book-matched granite panels in the shower, and double sinks in driftwood-themed cabinetry. This is complemented by the children’s bunk room with skylit bath, laundry and views to the western sunset.
Sustainable features for this remote location include, first and foremost, passive solar collection through the extensive south-facing glazing. Solar panels and battery storage provide for active electrical generation. Remote access for systems allows continuous monitoring and energy management from a distance. There is a backup propane-fired system for supplemental heat.
Our client’s goal was to create a gracious family retreat that celebrates the natural setting of Bolinas and to provide spaces for gathering with friends. They are thrilled with the result, which is far beyond what they had imagined was possible.
Principal Architect: Ross Levy, Levy Art + Architecture Architectural / Interior Designer: Karen Andersen, Levy Art + Architecture Structural Engineer: Bruce King General Contractor: Kasten Builders Landscape Designer: Shirley Watts Photographer: Mikiko Kikuyama Photography
Three Designers Modernize a Landmark Flat with European Sensibility and Meaning
Joe, Joe Joe Joe… ever concerned, ever considered, ever conditional. I’ve known Joe for some time now; we do some of the same sports and our children grew up together (or, in parallel) in the universe of San Francisco adolescence. Joe is very successful and very involved.
He was single — more on that later — works downtown and was renting a small house in the shadow of a large high-rise on Russian Hill. He kept wanting to buy, and I’d looked at things with him over the years, but his radius was small. Really small. About an eighth of a mile, right at the top of the hill.
Finally, we went to look at a large unit in a small building. It was spacious but formal, featuring several connected parlor rooms with up-close Bay Bridge and Downtown views. It was a bit “tired and old” in its aesthetics. Although the views were outstanding, the doors and windows could not be changed. They were a more traditional version of a punched opening with traditional trim and casings. The ceilings were high, which is great, but the spaces felt somewhat interior.
Our approach was to remove as many divisions as possible and to rearrange the sequence of experiences to take better advantage of the outlooks and to better suit the program for our client. We opened and integrated the living spaces to create a long, connected set of experiences of the view. We likened this new, very large, space to a Palazzo: the type of redeveloped art gallery you see in European cities in a repurposed historic structure. The doors casings, walls and ceilings at the perimeter are all preserved, but “whited out,” creating a “gallery backdrop” for a much more contemporary interior.
Joe is no longer single as he used to be. Enter his & hers designers: Cindy Bayon and Eche Martinez. Working together, Eche, Cindy and I — Los Tres Amigos — crafted stand-alone moments in the white box environment, redefining the now wall-less volume with architectural, functional and artistic objects. Cindy and I started the hard surfaces work with space-defining features like the floating dining room ceiling with collapsible chainmail walls. The master bath was enlarged, made into a grand spa — an exercise in exquisite materiality with Alcatraz views. The master suite was fitted out with an integrated headboard, lighting, and large walk-in, making it more of a private refuge.
Each installation reflects an aspect of the clients’ lives: the back lit, white gloss panels that line the entryway represent snow and skiing, wood paneling at the headboard is for nature and farming, and the materialized master bath for sophistication and travel.
Art is the thing that binds this all together. Working from the lighting into the soft surfaces and art, Eche made the spaces livable and understandable. The entire home is now inhabited, by people and by objects. The furnishings and works of art create the balance and fullness that this open environment needs.
Our work is a process and processes take time and perspective. This team, formed over time and distance, brought real meaning to the project. This kind of meaning and integrity can only be built over time, with layers of vision blended to a seamless whole.
Architect: Levy Art + Architecture Contractor: Moroso Construction Interior Designers: Cindy Bayon & Eche Martinez Photographer: Christopher Stark
Featured in Modern Luxury Magazine: “Sky High”by Maile Pingel (Fall 2021)
