This medical center renovation project sits on Post and Geary Streets in San Francisco. With a very limited budget, we were able to make some fairly significant upgrades . See some of the before and after images.
You can also check out our project page for a more detailed write-up about this project.
Here’s a bit of Ed’s recent Interview on Designing Modern Homes.
What is your design philosophy, or style, with including raw elements in order to create a modern feel?
We are fortunate in the Bay Area because we have a long tradition of residential architects who have valued craft and believed in expressing materials “honestly”. Exposed concrete walls, cedar siding, and natural plaster, for example, give buildings a tactile quality and I think that makes them warm and inviting. In my own home, I just installed a walnut eating bar with a “live-edge” (the edge of the wood has not been milled – just the bark has been stripped). My young son loves running his hand along the edge whenever we sit down for a meal.
What are some important design elements that define a modern styled building or home?
Modern homes blur the distinction between indoors and outdoors. So there are large areas of transparency or openings that connect the interiors and exteriors together. I frequently tell clients that when we shape the envelope or exterior of the building we are designing both sides of the wall – the interior space and the reciprocal exterior spaces.
Another important characteristic is the open plan. In modern homes things like material changes, exposed structural elements, varying ceiling heights, and furniture often define spaces rather than walls.
What are some of the biggest decisions that a homeowner will need to make about the design of a modern home?
I think deciding how to prioritize the budget is at the top of the list. This applies to either a modern or traditional home. We help our clients set their priorities. Our bias is to push for quality over quantity. We want to build a good quality exterior envelop, use good quality windows, etc. We also try design spaces that really get used and are laid out efficiently and fit a client’s lifestyle.
To see more head to: Bay Area For Sale
This is the first picture we have of a new library wall cabinet we designed. We were really excited to use our in-studio computer modeling software to run a CNC Router which carved the door and drawer fronts. Our clients are from Finland, and one of my favorite designers is Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. He’s known for designing some wavy glassware for iittala. And so the idea of incorporating waves into the piece seemed appropriate. Of course, that glassware from the 30′s, was handmade. We needed to update the process here to suit our abilities, materials, and budget. I still like drawing by hand, so it felt right to begin with some freehand sketches. But very quickly we took those line drawings and converted them into 3d relief panels. These panels were then sent over to the fabrication shop where the pattern was routed into 1″ thick mdf sheets. The cabinetmaker installed them more or less like any other cabinet fronts. The piece is painted with white conversion varnish. We’re just waiting on the stainless steel library ladder to arrive from Germany, and then our clients can start filling up the shelves. Look for an update coming soon! And if you’re looking to do something similar, let us know. We’ve got a bunch of ideas.
