The post Alma Rosa Vineyard Barn by Clayton Korte in Buellton was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Mary Maydan, founder and principal of Maydan Architects designed this ultra-modern 7,000 square-foot Palo Alto residence, for her family. Nicknamed “Floating Boxes,” the home creates an illusion of three floating boxes.

The boxes, which appear to float separately but are structurally interconnected, symbolize the three generations that share the home: Mary and her husband, their four children, and Mary’s parents. The home’s ultra-modern minimalist style stands out in the neighborhood. Mary’s multigenerational family home redefines modern design in Silicon Valley, both through the exterior facade and the interior details. The floating concept continues inside the home with walls that appear to be detached from the floor and ceiling, an effect that was achieved using special aluminum drywall molds. The house includes doors with no jambs to create a completely flush look with only a slim reveal between the door and the walls, and door handles without rosettes. A 52-foot-long glass facade opens the home to the backyard, enhancing the indoor-outdoor flow.

The primary goal of the design was to provide the family members with ample options for privacy and connectivity. Maydan Architects designed an attached ADU on the ground floor for the grandparents, with its own exterior entry as well as a door that leads to the rest of the house. The unit includes a full kitchen, living room, bedroom, two bathrooms, and a small office. Also on the ground floor is a living room with 16-foot-high ceilings, and dining area open to the kitchen, with a motorized screen that can be used to divide the space as needed. In the kitchen, a custom mix of walnut, glossy white, and dark gray cabinetry by Maydan Architects is complemented by white Corian countertops and soft gray porcelain slabs on the wall. A living room library brings warmth into the space, while a ladder adds a touch of color and enables the family to reach the higher shelves. On the right side, a wall with a double-sided fireplace separates a home office. From the living room, the office appears to be ensconced in a concrete box, a striking design element that further emphasizes the theme of floating boxes.

The basement floor is washed with daylight, designed with room for large lightwells on both sides. The two teenagers have suites in the basement that open to their own below-grade patio and can function almost as separate apartments. Also in the basement, a spacious playroom, media room, and gym provide additional spaces for individual and communal recreation. A major objective in the design was the creation of a space in the basement for the Maydan Architects office, complete with a bathroom and pantry. An exterior staircase leading to the office enables complete separation from the house, creating a comfortable workspace for employees and a suitable location to host meetings with clients. The second floor of the home consists of a master bedroom suite, three children’s bedrooms, and two bathrooms.

Although designed and completed before the pandemic, the concept proved ideal for remote working and learning. The children had privacy for school, Mary and her husband for work, and the grandparents had a safe place to be separated from the younger generations if needed. The project was designed to be suitable for the family for many years. Maydan Architects incorporated forward-thinking design details such as an elevator shaft to enable easy installation of an elevator if ever needed by the older generation.

The home has a passive solar energy design, with a 10’ overhang for blocking the sun and preventing excess solar heat gain. The home enjoys soft natural light throughout the day but does not require additional shading due to the overhang and orientation. The home is prepped for solar panels which are currently being installed and has many other sustainable elements, including green building materials such as zero VOC paints, LED lighting throughout, tankless water heaters, and electric car plug-ins in the garage.

While striking and ultra-modern, the house is warm, livable, and inviting. The home takes a mature approach to a soft color palette, with shades of whites and grays complemented by purple, dusty pink, and other soft tones. Maydan Architect’s airy design sensibility is achieved through open, light-washed spaces that promote a seamless indoor-outdoor flow.

Maydan Architects

The post A multigenerational house in Palo Alto was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Located in the Templeton Gap area of West Paso Robles, California, this simple agricultural storage structure rests at the toe of the 50-acre James Berry Vineyard and the adjacent winery sitting just over 800 feet away. This structure is completely self-sufficient and operates independently from the energy grid, maximizing the structure’s survivability and resilience. Designed as a modern pole barn, the reclaimed oil field drill stem pipe structure’s primary objectives are to provide an armature for a photovoltaic roof system that offsets more than 100% of power demands on the winery and to provide covered open-air storage for farming vehicles and their implements, workshop and maintenance space, and storage for livestock supplies.

Designed to harnesses the local climate to maximize cross ventilation, daylight and solar energy, the recycled oilfield pipe structure holds a laminated glass photovoltaic roof system that produces 1/3 more power than needed (roughly 87,000 kWh per year), eliminating the dependence of grid tied power for the winery and the vineyard irrigation well pumps through net metering. Utilizing the laminated glass solar modules as both the actual primary roof and the renewable energy generator, offset any additional costs to construct an additional roof with separately mounted crystalline solar panels.

Minimalistic and salvaged materials were selected to withstand the particularly dry climate, for regional availability, long-term durability and to minimize the need for regular maintenance. The primary column and roof structure is constructed of welded Schedule 40 reclaimed drill stem pipe, in 2 inch, 3 inch and 3.5 inch diameters, and left to weather naturally. The lateral load resisting system, consists of diaphragm rod cross-bracing and vertical tension only cross-braced frames. Laminated glass solar modules, serving as both the solar system and the roofing, are supported on wood and WT steel flitch purlins welded to the pipe trusses. An 8 inch diameter Schedule 40 half-pipe gutter is situated at the low end of the roof to accommodate future rainwater harvesting. 22 gauge Western Rib Cor-Ten corrugated perforated steel panels provide shading and filtered privacy to equipment bays.

Salvaged materials do more with less. Barn doors are clad in weathered steel off-cuts that were saved for reuse from the adjacent winery shoring walls, re-used in a “calico” pattern to fit the oddly shaped panels to tube steel framed door leafs. Storage boxes are skinned with stained cedar siding with the interiors clad with unfinished rotary cut Douglas Fir plywood. Foundations limit the amount of cast-in-place concrete by including pervious gravel paving for all open vehicle storage bays and livestock pens, maximizing the amount of rainwater that is filtered back through the soil into the watershed. In addition, providing an engineered deepened earthwork program allowed the structural foundation requirements to be more efficient with their utilization of cast-in-place concrete.

Sitting sentry as the foremost structure present upon entering the vineyard-lined property, the barn and its renewable energy system speak to the winery’s commitment to sustainability and subservience to the natural landscape.

Clayton & Little

The post Saxum Vineyard Equipment Barn was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.