Oculus Architecture & Design

One of our most recent projects, featured in California Home Design with interior design by Gary Hutton and Photography by Aaron Leitz.

Ascending and descending in style

A new home sited on the edge of a wooded bluff in a quiet neighborhood of the San Mateo hills. The site provides sweeping vistas of the San Francisco Bay, including a view of San Francisco to the north and the East Bay hills as they range south. Early program discussions established a mandate for site sensitivity and topographic integration, with a desire for the home to organically grow out of the terrain while being rooted in the descending hillside. As a result, the home a...ppears diminutive and secluded from the street as it is blanketed by a rolling green roof that berms over most of the upper level. Hints of the views beyond can be glimpsed through the center of the home and around the green edges, but the magnitude of the visual drama beyond is mostly hidden from curbside. Passing through an entry court that is framed with inclining concrete arms, the downhill side of the home is revealed as a series of terraces that arc with the natural contours of the slope while providing light and outdoor access to the seemingly submerged rooms within. These curving exterior spaces are bound together by a number of steps and stairs that serve to link all outdoor areas, from a rooftop view terrace to a swimming pool that is semi-recessed into the hillside near the south property line. See more

This pool house and cabana help frame the exterior space and serve to form a relaxing compound for exterior living.

#Wraparound gas #fireplace with floating hearth and zig-zag shelves