Working within the existing footprint of a round home, Feldman Architecture reimagines a disjointed circular structure into an innovative futuristic house. By connecting the residence to its lush surroundings and opening up spaces, the possibilities of an ocular form are realised.
Nestled within the picturesque San Francisco hills, Feldman Architecture renovates an introverted round structure into an innovative futuristic house that thrives in its distinctive shape, location and views. Integral to the building’s remodelling is reworking the internal spaces to make them more functional and connected to the outdoors. The edge of the house wings out towards views of the landscape and it is also anchored to the land on the west side.
To make the most of its unique position, the garage was expanded to act as a base for the house and the stairwell was moved so that it takes you directly to the upper level. Upon entering, you see a framed view of the kitchen and then immediately turn into the open plan living. Here, there is a living and dining with tall ceilings, which open out to cascading views. Suddenly, there is a blurring of the indoors and outdoors, typical of Californian architecture.
The rooms within the home follow an organic theme reminiscent of the structure’s circular shape. The rigid flow of the old house has been transformed – the innovative futuristic house welcomes a nice sense of symmetry in the redesign of the kitchen and skylight as an oculus hub in the centre of the home. This skylight functions like a sundial and moves about at different points in time, reflecting a constant interplay with light.
A thoughtful selection of materials are chosen to soften the powerful geometry of the home. In terms of finishes and materiality, the residence is very minimalist. Dark charred woods help the building blend into the landscape. Concrete is used as the base of the home to connect it further to the landscape and is complemented by curved walls to really ground this building on its site. Walnut is used for all the floors and casework, which works to keep the innovative futuristic house from feeling cold or sterile.
Round House is an example of how a renovation can remain true to the original concept and unique design of a home while still elevating it to become an innovative futuristic house. Looking at the residence through a new lens endowed with a deeper understanding of technology and industry has resulted in a striking transformation and offers an exciting glimpse into what the future holds.
00:00 - Introduction to the Innovative Futuristic House 00:23 - The Original Home and the Vision 01:07 - A Walkthrough of the Home 01:36 - Blurring the Lines between Inside and Outside 01:58 - The Original Story of the Home 02:21 - Functioning like a Sun Dial 02:42 - Curves All Around 03:00 - Creating the Curves with a Compass 03:31 - The Materials and the Shape 04:29 - A Unique Experience for the Client and the Architects
Photography by Adam Rouse. Architecture by Feldman Architecture. Landscape Design by Variegated Green. Civil Engineering by Lea & Braze Engineering. Structural Engineering by BKG Structural Engineers. Geotechnical Consulting by Romig Engineers. Lighting by Tucci. Filmed and Edited by Cheer Squad Film Co. Production by The Local Project.
The Local Project acknowledges the traditional territories and homelands of the Indigenous peoples in the United States. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our respective countries and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Indigenous peoples of these lands.
Los Altos Hills is a suburb of San Francisco. We're about 40 miles south up in the hills.
When we first came here to see the existing home, it was almost like the spaceship had
just plopped here on the land. The spaces were not open to the view. The living room space was
in the back and there was a vision to do a significant remodel. We took that way beyond.
The more we envisioned the possibility of what this building could be, the greater the excitement
of the team became. In a sense, it was a very introverted house on a site that actually has
views all around. So the important thing that we changed was expanding a garage to act as a plinth,
a base for the house, and moving the stair, which leads you to an upper level.
And then you come in and you see a framed view of the kitchen with its slatted screens.
There's a slow reveal of what the house is going to be about.
And you turn in and you suddenly experience this really grand space, which is a great room,
which has the living space. It has the dining and 12 feet tall ceilings,
which open out to these really magnificent views. The edge of the house leans out towards the view
and it's also connected and anchored to the land on the west side. Suddenly, there really is no
distinction between what's inside and what's outside. And honestly, a lot of Californian
architecture is really about blurring those moments whenever it's possible.
One of the unique stories here was that when you came into the old house, you actually go
underneath the house and you would rise up through the donut circle through the stair to enter
into the spaces. And the real transformation here was to still work within that footprint
of the existing home. But we enclosed that patio space to create the core hub of the house,
which became the kitchen. We created an oculus opening in the center of this
kitchen hub, which essentially was just a square skylight with a round soffit.
It was pretty fascinating. Once it was framed out, that's when we started observing how it
actually functions like a sundial and moves about at different points in time.
In every detail, every point along the way, we had to ask ourselves, should it be curved,
should it be straight? And we pushed the envelope. We made curved doors for the kitchen cabinets. We
have curved lines that represent joints in the floor. The deck boards were tapered so that they
would radiate out from that center point. Yes, it was difficult, it was challenging,
but we had a contractor and a superintendent specifically who created a tool. It was a 16-foot
high, 45-foot long compass that he used to clearly be precise about the layout for all these elements
of the house. And of course, there was a point at which it was no longer needed, and that was a
moment at which he cut the base of the tool, and it's now our doorstop for the entry door.
In terms of materials, we have these really dark charred woods, which have a very strong texture,
and they actually help the building blend a little bit more into the landscape.
It's a pretty powerful geometry and shape, so the idea was always to soften it.
I think the concrete was important material here, too. We changed the shape of the garage and the
base of the building. That concrete, in connection with all the landscape walls that are curved,
is a nice pairing that really grounds this building on its site.
In terms of overall finishes and materials, this project was very minimalist in a way.
Yeah, I would say the one material that really stops the house from being cold or sterile would
really be the walnut that features in the floors and all the casework. It just becomes a backdrop,
I guess, for the clients to live out their lives. I'd never worked on a roundhouse. Anjali never
worked on a roundhouse. This is a unique find for us and the clients, and the idea of just
transforming this and imagining what could be in the future was super exciting for us.
Staying true to the original idea, the design, and elevating it, making it purer now that we are
looking at it with a fresh lens of 50, 60 years that technology and industry has moved forward
with, was an incredible amount of fun. We had a big idea from day one, so I'm really proud of
all the details and all the decisions down the road and all the collaboration we had
to really honor that. This was a wonderful experience.
