Tag: remodel

Above the Dune on Great Highway

How an Architecture Studio Created a Lifestyle for a Working Professional and Dedicated Surfer

Architect: Ross Levy⁠ (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
Project Team: Melissa Todd, Patrick Donato⁠ (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
Interior Architect / Designer: Frances Weiss⁠ (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
Contractor: Blair Burke (BBGC)⁠
Entitlements: Jeremy Paul (Quickdraw)
Stair Fabricator: Luke Gosellin
Structural Engineer: FTF⁠ Engineering⁠
Photographer: Joe Fletcher

If you’ve ever surfed, you know that you need to watch the water. The swells tell a surfer when it’s time to surf, not the other way around. For the committed, this means that living at the beach isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.

That’s why this project happened: our surf-focused client knew he had to make the big move — all the way across San Francisco, from Bernal Heights to Ocean Beach (a solid twenty-minute drive), so that he could keep an eye on the ever-changing swell. Stretching above the sand dune, the expanded third floor living space and roof deck afford him and his family the ultimate lookout.

Lifeguard Tower 25. The location was perfect, but the house was old. It was water-damaged and strangely organized. A third floor had been “dropped” on top of the original San Francisco “Marina Style” two-story, leaving a large cavity between. It was space to work with, just like a wave that appears on the horizon.

Working from top to bottom, we revealed vertical spaces that make the house feel and live much larger than its actual 2350 sq ft footprint. We set the entry on the split level, up from the street, to resist sand and wind and to heighten that experience even more. Ascending that half a flight on a wide stair, you’re drawn through the middle level on a cable suspended stair to the top, the lookout.

Here we added minimally, 150 square feet, almost all glass, and a new deck directly in front for the best vantage up and down the beach. New living space is under a 10-foot ceiling with natural light from 4 sides via clerestories. They define the rooms, and even the light-reducing ocean glare. A small sitting area and the kitchen at the back are cozy, under the original ceilings. Finally, we suspended a deck off the back wall to support a ladder to the roof to service the solar panels and to get a bigger view, make a better call on the waves.

The interiors (by Melissa Todd and Frances Weiss) are beach-y but contemporary. We added an organic and textural layer of materials including warm-toned wood and a mix of Cle, Fireclay, and Heath tiles in earth and water colors to ground the space in its natural environment. The effect is restrained yet welcoming, simultaneously curated and laid back.

Our client couldn’t be happier, and he’s converted his family into devoted beach goers. During the time of the Covid quarantine that has been a most welcome addition for all.

And the surf’s been good this year, too.

This project was featured in Dwell in July 2021 — check out the before & after comparisons here.

Based in San Francisco, California, Levy Art & Architecture specializes in commercial and residential projects, with the goal of creating an innovative architectural design consistent with the client’s vision. A team of professionals with extensive experience and multi-disciplinary backgrounds handles a wide range of projects of every scale. Want to find out how we can turn your vision into a custom-built project? Contact us and let’s chat.

Zero Energy House

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Architect: Ross Levy⁠ (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
Project Team: Karen Andersen (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
MEP: Davis Energy Group⁠
Contractor: n/a
Structural Engineer: SEMCO
Photographer: Ken Gutmaker

This project aims to be the first residence in San Francisco that is completely self-powering and carbon neutral. The architecture has been developed in conjunction with the mechanical systems and landscape design, each influencing the other to arrive at an integrated solution. Working from the historic facade, the design preserves the traditional formal parlors transitioning to an open plan at the central stairwell which defines the distinction between eras. The new floor plates act as passive solar collectors and radiant tubing redistributes collected warmth to the original, North facing portions of the house. Careful consideration has been given to the envelope design in order to reduce the overall space conditioning needs, retrofitting the old and maximizing insulation in the new.

Nothing Never Looked So Good

Words by Joanne Furio and Lauren Murrow

An Edwardian Divorces PG&E

As the managing director of San Jose–based SunPower corporation, William Kelly unabashedly geeks out about solar panels. But when he set about expanding his family’s 1904 Noe Valley Edwardian, he took things a step further, getting “off the pipe”— eliminating the need for natural gas. Instead, a radiant system of water-filled tubing beneath the floorboards provides heat, and cooking is done on an induction stovetop. San Francisco firm Levy Art and Architecture expanded the home to 2,424 square feet, moving living areas to the south-facing rear of the house to harness the sunlight; a skylight over the glass-encased three-story staircase lets natural light reach from rooftop to basement. Meanwhile, SunPower’s photovoltaic solar panel system channels 7.6 kilowatts of electricity—enough to power the home and the family’s two cars. J.F.

Originally published in the April 2013 issue of San Francisco.

Publications:

ZeroNRG 25
ZeroNRG Floor Plan
Schematic of radiant heating system
Schematic of electric system
Schematic of water recycling system

Laidley

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Completed in 2002, this new home in San Francisco is conceived as a series of interlocking forms, stepping up the hill and out of the earth to become a transparent glass form bound by the planar structure. This linear language informs the details throughout, appearing in the plan, elevations and custom furniture design. The street level entry opens to a sculpture court where an open, steel and concrete stairway leads to a terrace and the formal front door. All three living levels enjoy panoramic views of the city from the front and the serenity of a Japanese-inspired garden to the rear.

[Levy Art + Architecture] took on the challenges of a steep site and steep aspirations by homeowners inspired both by having once lived in an R.M. Schindler home and by their longtime friendship with New York set designer Tom John. “First,” said Ross Levy, “we had to distill one vision from these many visions.” The result mixes a view of the city through the glassed front of the house with a look through the glassed back at Japan, with a teahouse and garden perched atop the multi-level yard, and connects indoors to out with doors from the master suite to the garden and exhilarating terraces on each level of the front of the house, making the house feel much bigger than its 2,500 square feet.

Susan Fornoff in “Design Magicians”

Publications: • California Home + Design, September 2006, pp. 150-155: “Balancing Act” by Lydia Lee. • San Francisco Chronicle, September 14, 2005, pp. G1,G4: “Design Magicians” by Susan Fornoff. • AIA San Francisco Home Tours 2005.

In collaboration with Tom John, Interiors. Ken Gutmaker, Photography.

Ora Way

Ora 04

This sixties vintage, split-level in San Francisco was entirely rebuilt inside the original shell, a new house inside the old. The design was an archaeological process, excavating through the existing structure to find the unrealized potential in this volume. The four parallel monolithic walls oriented from front to back are contrasted with glass and wood infill emphasizing the view. Minimalist details and the expression of structure create a synthesis between existing and new materials which complement interior spaces configured to maximize access to the panoramic skyline from multiple levels.

Publications:
• 7×7 Magazine, April 2008, pp. 98-103: “Living on the Edge” by Leilani Labong.

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Zero Energy House hits Asia

Blog FuturArc JanFeb2013cover

Zero Energy House was published in FuturARC (an Asian Green Architecture magazine) early in 2013, in an article written by Jalel Sager.  The article explores the California codes, the most stringent in the US (probably the world). Here Jalel finds several developments that go further than most; their owners speak of sharing their abode with the planet. The battle between the personal and the political is fought on the fringes of mainstream Green.

Here is a PDF of the article

Green California Article from Jan-Feb FutureArc

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San Francisco Remodel

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This Noe Valley Remodel pushes the envelope of what most would call a remodel, but when you start with an old small house a little goes a long way.

The house is being slightly lifted to allow for a full height understory and a new story is being added to dramatically increase the space, view and use.

The City of San Francisco and most jurisdictions have rules for what is allowed.  In the case of San Francisco the permit process is much easier for a renovation, the only issue is that you can only change so much before it’s considered a demolition.  However there’s sometimes tax consequences, so check with a financial adviser.

Clay St.

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This three-story addition to an historic property in Nob Hill in San Francisco is more a new building than a renovation.  The original property was dark and narrow.  By introducing a large light-well on the West side of the mass, we were able to bring natural light deep into the building, even the lower levels.  A four-car garage sits at the base on the Clay Street side.  On the level above there is a single level flat, its large living and dining areas open directly to a deck and south facing garden that increase the sense of space.  The glass light-well forms a hallway that leads to two bedrooms.  The owners unit has five bedrooms and four and half baths.  The highlight is a two-story living room that looks to the south through a two story window wall that is inspired by Mondrian.  This wall contrasts with the symmetry and history of the front façade, designed along the lines of early nineteenth century skyscrapers, visually ordered by neoclassical architectural concepts.  This dichotomy of front to back, historical to expressive is typical of our work in San Francisco, where the street wall and historic facades are protected by the California Environmental Quality Act.

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30th Avenue Progressing

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The building shell is up, roughed-in and insulated. We are making the final tweaks before sheetrock but the sense of the space and its connection to the outside has taken shape. It is already exciting even without the sheetrock. the floor to ceiling glass of the large sliders gives you the impression that the building disappears at moments and the 10′ foot ceilings give the feeling of openness. Views to the outdoors and the natural light provided reinforce this.

The background, this is an addition to a small suburban home for a growing family. The intent was to create a modern living/dining/kitchen space with a strong outdoor connection to the yard while re-purposing the smaller more contained living room in the existing house to a master bedroom suite. efficient and cost effective.

Cole Valley

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In the heart of Cole Valley, this property was the perfect location for a growing family.  The house itself was small and poorly organized.  We removed a small shed from the rear and had a blank palette for new architecture.  The two story addition is set two risers down from the main level.  This allows it to open directly to the garden and to enjoy  a tall ceiling.  The element that binds the project together is a central lightwell above the kitchen bar.  The kitchen relates to the living room and yard across the open bar. The lightwell also allows an overlook into the main spaces from the children’s bedrooms above and includes an internal window into the master bath.  The rear façade is a collage of glass and wood, activated by a pitched roof that vaults one of the upper bedrooms.  In contrast the front is an historic renovation, no sign of the contemporary space or addition beyond.