A D B | F A U L K N E R A R C H I T E C T S
PHOTOGRAPHS:
COURTESY
OF
JOE
FLETCHER
40 DIGS.NET
|
12.7.2018
W R I T T E N B Y W E N D Y B O W M A N
At One with Nature
This modern, site-specific home dialogues with the
landscape in selected ways based on sun, wind and views
G
reg Faulkner of Faulkner Architects is a
man of few words. e architect lets his
site- and context-driven designs speak
for him. ink this sculptural, AIACC Honor
Award-winning residence near San Francisco that
considers the surrounding landscape, climate,
culture, as well as existing uses and patterns for a
sustainable residence boasting a visually appealing
exterior, "phenomenological" indoor experience
and, most importantly, a framed view of an ancient
oak tree via large expanses of glass.
"Each project addresses the topography, wind and
use patterns of the site, effects of the intervention
on the wildlife and flora, my interest in exploring
haptic relationships between inside and outside,
and the driving forces of the clients' interests,"
says Faulkner. "is project does what all my
projects do: It advances certain interests, like the
relationship between habitation and nature; how
to honor existing use patterns on a site; and how to
create a house that can be in intimate conversation
with its surroundings, yet maintain an intellectual
rigor that articulates, 'there are rules here.'"
Situated on Miner Road in the suburb of Orinda—
at the base of the Oakland Hills, amid rich, green
foliage and native oak trees—the minimalist, two-
story structure was built for an environmentally-
minded couple (both work in sustainable fuels and
transportation) with two young sons. eir goal:
to build a house that would be deeply ecologically
site-specific, energy-efficient and have a strong
design identi.
What resulted is a three-bedroom abode sheathed
in Cor-Ten steel panels, with the exterior of the
house meant to shi its aesthetic and surface
over time due to elements such as rain, wind and
sun. Inside, unfinished white oak on the walls,
ceilings and floors produces a sensory relationship
between the inside and outside, picking up on and
expanding on the relationship with a massive white
oak that's visible through the almost Cartesian
gridded windows. Meanwhile, an open living/
dining area opens to a terrace via a 12-foot-wide
sliding pocket wall.
Among Faulkner's favorite features: "e rain
screen at the end of the pacing deck articulates a
visual relationship with nature and weather that
the rest of the house produces over time," he says.
"When it rains, the water changes the patterns
and form of the screen—a synecdoche for the
way in which the whole house's exterior weathers
and changes over years, just like the landscape."
faulknerarchitects.com
