For this renovation of a tiny worker’s cottage in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood, our client gave us three directives for the project’s “resilience:” 1) allowing them to stay in the city, from parenting through empty-nest, to age-in-place phases; 2) remaining comfortable throughout a widely-varying range of microclimate weather; and 3) protecting against seismic, landslide and wildfire risks on this steeply-sloping site adjacent to an untended open space. Our proposal extended the house into the front yard, doubling the square footage and creating a literal and figurative anchor facing the street.

Preserving privacy at the street-facing ground floor, high clerestory windows and skylights admit diffuse natural light to the interior entryway and dining room. Larger windows open to sweeping views of the bay as one moves towards the living room and workspace in the rear.

Working within the constraints of the foundation system – and its deep piles tying the building into the hillside – split levels and platforms create different nooks and spaces within the open floor plan, maximizing coziness while avoiding the cost of creating a single floor level.

Balancing the heat of blasting direct sun in the morning, with blustry winds that buffet the house in the afternoon, operable skylights and shades allow for ample passive ventilation and diffuse light to course through the central stair core.

Non-combustible cladding materials and solid walls up to six feet above adjacent grade help protect the building against brush fires, which in the past have seriously damaged the house. By adding fire department access through the entry vestibule and towards the rear of the property, the hope is to lessen damage that might occur during firefighting efforts (which again has happened in the past).