Category Archives: Materiality
Wood
The new red oak bench, reception desk, and cabinets in the school’s main entry echo the richly stained woodwork of the historic spaces elsewhere in the building. Mullen Manufacturing, owned by church member Nils Nordstrand, produced most of the original woodwork around 1930. Around that same time the church also installed th [...]
Read more about Children’s Day School.
Brick
Brick is the building’s primary historic material, so its many masonry surfaces were preserved, repaired, and left exposed wherever possible. The quality and consistency of the original masonry varies according to its visibility. The street front facades and bell tower are red rubbed face brick laid in common bond, while th [...]
Read more about Children’s Day School.
Transparency
Glass is an amorphous solid, not a liquid. The idea that glass flows and becomes thicker at the bottom seems to be an urban legend. Nevertheless, the beauty of glass is that it is at once present and non-present. In the contemporary office environment, this allows for visual connection while maintaining acoustic privacy.
Read more about Goodby Silverstein.
Non-materiality
Fixed mirrored panels, glass guardrails, and sliding glass doors on the top floor span the gap between the buried plinth of the private level and the floating roof above the upper public level. This results in the house virtually disappearing.
From the pool terrace and exterior decks, the façade re [...]
Read more about Turner Residence.
Field of Oaks
The wealth of coast live oaks that dominate the natural hillside site were a key consideration in the home’s design – both in its relationship to the environment and the identity and feel of the interior. Along with various other species, the fifty-four oaks on site create a dense verdant screen of p [...]
Read more about Turner Residence.
Tile
The tile used throughout SHED comes from Sonoma Tilemakers, a manufacturer located in nearby Windsor. Committed to sustainability, they reconstitute scrap clay for use, donate unused tiles to asphalt companies, and recapture heat from kilns for use in drying tile and heating their factory. Rectangular tiles from Sonoma Tilemakers [...]
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Wood
Virtually all of the wood used in SHED is local urban salvage sourced from Evan Shively of Aborica, the region’s revered source for reclaimed wood. Monterey cypress composes the exterior decking, fencing, wall cladding and the second-floor trellis, and continues inside to define the gardening section and cafe. The coffee bar [...]
Read more about SHED.