mendocino county house
Project Type: Single Family Home
Size: 2,500 sf
Services: Concept Design
This single-family home commissioned by a small family is located on a rural meadow in Mendocino County, California and surrounded by sweeping hills.
The structure utilizes a unique fire resistive composite wall system composed of XPS foam, reinforced steel, and concrete. This system provides fire resistivity, exceptional load bearing capacity, superior energy efficiency, and allows for less material use than a standard concrete wall. The structure of the building is clad in fire retardant treated timber that complements its natural surroundings.
The home’s electrical service is provided by a solar grid located to the south, and water is provided from a nearby uphill creek. The home seeks to provide for exceptional quality of life for the family, while answering key functional requirements of building in rural California.
An organic concrete roof form caps the structure and evokes a tensile fabric lifting up at key view corridors, stretching out to provide for shading, and sloping down to create privacy at desired spaces. The roof form terminates at four corners with concrete buttresses that blend the home with the surrounding site and provide structural support.
The interior layout of the home is divided into several structural “cores” that contain key programmatic spaces. In between are living spaces with widespread views of the surrounding landscape. The laundry room also serves as a “shelter in place” space where the family can seek refuge until help arrives in the event of a fire.
The concrete roof form blurs the line between interior and exterior space
