Download pdf - 2012 OAT brochure

OPENTOUR

ARCHITECTURE

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presented by the

Architects Association of Santa Cruz County as a benefit for

saturday may 19th10am-4pm

$36 ticket admits two people

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Welcome to the 2012 Open Architecture Tour

Presented by the Architects Association of Santa Cruz County

as a Benefit for

Habitat for HumanityThis booklet is your admission to each home on the tour. Please present

booklet to the docent upon entry to each property. Thank you.

The Architects Association of Santa Cruz County is proud to present our Seventeenth Annual Open Architecture Tour on Saturday, May 19th, from 10:00am until 4:00pm.

This showcase of unique architectural works is an opportunity for you to meet talented local architects and experience their skillful designs. Your ticket book enables you and a companion to take a self-guided tour of sites located throughout Santa Cruz County.

These architectural works encompass a wide range of styles and budgets. There are new custom homes and charming remodels and additions. Each offers exciting new ideas to current or prospective home owners interested in careful crafting of home design.

Architects, project craftspeople, and docents will be at each site to greet you and discuss the site’s special design features. Keep this ticket book as a valuable reference for when you plan your own project.

Architects Association of Santa Cruz CountyWe are an association of licensed architects, affiliated design and construction professionals, and friends of architecture. The AASCC was formed in 1982 with the purpose of increasing public awareness of and sensitivity to architecture, giving members a platform for addressing design and planning issues at the regulatory level, fostering communication among design and building professionals, and sponsoring cooperation among private and public groups, all with the goal of improving the quality of both the built and natural environments.

Please visit our newly updated website at www.aascc.org for much more information, a complete list of all members, upcoming events, and an archive of past newsletters, speakers and Open Architecture Tours.

Copyright © 2012 Architects Association of Santa Cruz County.

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This west side Santa Cruz home is a complete remodel of and addition to an existing home built in the 1980s. Downstairs the kitchen was relocated and walls were removed to create a great room for the kitchen, dining room, and family room. A new deck was added off the great room in order to enjoy the back yard and a glimpse of the ocean. The living room is a two story space with a new sun filled nook for reading and playing (when the grandchildren come to visit!). The downstairs existing laundry and bathroom were redone with all new cabinetry and finishes; there is even a new LED lit glass sink. The upstairs master bedroom suite was redesigned with an angled deck included to catch a view of the ocean down the street. A small office was added adjacent to the master suite with a built-in desk and Juliet balcony. The two other upstairs existing bedrooms, and associated bathroom, were re-finished.

Some of the materials you will see on your tour are: ash floors, ash or mahogany cabinetry, custom concrete counters at the master bathroom and kitchen island, and quartz and Caesar Stone counters in other locations.

The owners of the home are originally from South Africa and one will see various art pieces from South Africa and custom stained glass windows featuring plants native to South Africa. Janet Wyner-Maze also has a real love of locally crafted wood furniture and one will find various pieces throughout the home made by various artisans. This is a home designed to be a comfortable and warm place for a far flung family to gather. Enjoy your tour!

1 Westside Remodel

Owners

Architect Matson Britton Architects

Engineer R.I. Engineering

Contractor Bret Gripenstraw

Interior Design Janet Wyner-Maze Matson Britton Architects

Cabinetry Ken Neill

Landscape Architect Jody Stix-Garsia

Landscape Installer Far West Landscaping

Stucco Ramsey Lath & Plaster

Stained Glass John Forbes, Bonny Doon Art Glass

Custom Furniture Bud Bogle Pieces Ken Periat Heather Glass

See architect profile on page 55

Matson Britton Architects

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The former Sentinel newspaper office and publishing plant has been transformed and is now the home of Ecology Action, a local non-profit, Cruzio, the local internet provider, and a diverse group of local small and medium size businesses. The original 44,000 sq.ft. building was built in l964-65 using concrete tilt-up panels with reddish brown rocks as a finished surface and housed the local newspaper until 2007.

In the fall of 2009, the new owners set out to create a 21st century setting for this downtown workplace. The project uses several green or sustainable strategies, including:

1. Downtown location encourages walking, biking and transit for commuting and daily interactions,

2. Re-purposed old building takes advantage of the existing construction materials and the embedded energy,

3. Large areas cut into the existing concrete walls for new windows improve natural day-lighting,

4. All new systems for lighting, power, heating and plumbing incorporate energy and water saving materials and equipment,

5. Added operable windows and passive ventilating shafts improve air circulation, temperature control and comfort,

6. Materials that do not have toxic and/or off-gassing ingredients protect interior air quality,

7. New photo-voltaic panels on the roof generate electricity for building operations and electric car recharging,

The Old Sentinel Building Thacher & Thompson

8. Drainage devices reduce storm water pollution and increase groundwater recharge.

The tour will provide access to the building’s interior including the large, day-lit training room in Ecology Action and the various office environments within Cruzio and the Co-working areas with shared work areas and private offices. The wide variety of work environments showcase the changing office landscapes in the 21st century. Finally, the tour will include several wall display panels that illustrate many of the green strategies and how they may be used by tour guests.

Client

Architect Thacher & Thompson

Contractor Barry Swenson Builders

Construction Manager David Tanza, LEED AP

Structural Engineer Mesiti-Miller Engineering

Mechanical Engineer List Engineers

Electrical Engineer Prime Design

Civil Engineer Bowman and Williams

Landscape Architect Michael Arnone


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The clients approached me in 2008 with the desire to build a modest, quirky, energy-efficient home on vacant land in a new subdivision nestled between Harvey West Park and UCSC. Architects wait years for a project and a client like this.

The program was +1700 SF: two bedrooms, two baths, ample kitchen, creative indoor-outdoor space, a functioning garden, a place for yoga, and an orientation that would take advantage of the canyon viewsoff the back.

The best way to understand the challenge we faced at the project’s inception is to review the site plan and notice how the house jogs in response to the irregular lot. We were determined to keep the rooms largely on one level in anticipation of the client’s later years, but were confronted with simply too much building for the angled property lines. We also wanted to create two distinct viable outdoor courts: one on the south, facing the cul-de-sac, and one on the north, fronting the canyon. And so we arrived at a zigzagging split level floor plan…with a garage below and a guest room above. The green roof over the garage provides a third discrete outdoor area, a virtual “hanging” garden. The house is thus artificially elevated and thereby serendipitously separated by elevation from the street. The split level will be traversed later, if necessary, by a stair ascender, anticipated by designing extra-wide stairs.

The house has a number of sustainable features including: proper southern orientation for passive gain; solar-assisted domestic hot water

3 Rocky Road Residence

and heating with a sophisticated dual boiler and radiant pipes set in Gypcrete™ covered with cork flooring; spray foam insulation in walls and ceilings; Jeld Wen™ windows and doors; rainwater reclamation and storage in a tank under the driveway; wiring for future photovoltaic; sustainable metal roofing and arable green roof; and most of all, an unpretentious footprint.

Small, “simply-intended” homes have a way of becoming intricate. This translates into complexity. Architects merely suggest…clients persevere.

Architect Bret Hancock AIA

Structural Engineer Don Urfer & Associates

Civil Engineer Bowman Williams

Geotechnical Engineer Brian Bauldry

Heating, Plumbing App-Tech and Energy

Interior Design Janene Cayton Carla Carstens

Landscape Design & Del McComb Installation Peter Hanson

Builder Norcal Construction


Bret Hancock AIA

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There is no denying that what drew Realtor, Michael McDonald, and husband, Vince Wucherer, to this site was the spectacular view at the top of Kite Hill overlooking Pasatimpo, the city, and the bay. They also recognized that this open view was very private, as the house effectively shields the pool side from the street.

However, it was obvious, when walking through the front door, that the panoramic back yard was interrupted: walls between the windows, a wall between the kitchen and the living/dining room. Although the original house intended to be light and airy with many skylights and French doors, it closed itself down with eaves that were low to the view. The house also seemed to be missing a particular sense of style.

Michael and Vince wanted the remodel to reflect their modern, machined, yet organic esthetic. By adding steel in to the mix, we were able to introduce a nine-foot high, twenty-four foot long, four-panel sliding door which telescopes back to open to the pool. The new polished concrete floors reinforce the gelling of inside and out by extending out to the pool deck. To protect the house and the deck from the sun, a steel overhang arches from ribs that originate in the living room, pass through the I-beam, and cantilever over the door. By exposing these materials, an industrial language took hold. This can be seen in the front door with its steel and glass overhang, the standing metal seam roof, and the vertical concrete finishes in the master bath. At the same time, the house maintains its warmth through earthy colors and teak cabinets. The steel joins hands with the original wood structure and the dining room addition

4 Taking Down Walls

is composed of thick walls finished in a hard trowel texture that angles off the original geometry. The once segmented living areas have become one great room at the top of the hill.

MAP NOTE: As Simms Road is a gated entrance to Pasatiempo, please approach this project from Entry Road off of the Pasatiempo Exit on Highway 17.

Architects Matson Britton Architects

Contractor Schultz Construction

Interior Design Vince Wucherer Michael McDonald Martha Matson

Furnishings Vince Wucherer

Windows/Exterior Doors Tose Supply Company

Architectural Steel Dave Jacobson, Zayante Iron

Concrete Floors Tom Ralston Concrete

Pool Refinishing Scott Stratford, Santa Cruz Pools


Matson Britton Architects

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Location The Swedish Barn Home is located within the grounds of the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center across from Henry Cowell Redwood State Park off of Graham Hill Road. The Center consists of approximately 440 acres including conference facilities and private homes, all situated in a heavily wooded mountain environment.

Challenge The original home was destroyed in a devastating fire in October of 2009. To avoid mitigating the impact on endangered species, the new floor plan would have to fit the footprint of the old foundation, although the family needs had changed considerably from the time the house was originally purchased in 1981. The owners desired to capture more fully the stunning views of the forest in the greenbelt behind them while creating a new “old home”. The couple has a son and family living on a farm in Sweden which led to many of the Swedish design elements. The house also needed to be constructed within the budget of the insurance replacement cost.

Solution From the moment you walk in the front door, your eye is drawn to the forest view captured in a wall of windows twelve-foot high. A “barn cupola” brings additional light into the center of the house. The roof is standard wood framing with fourteen-inch fir beams, crafted by the contractor, to create the impression of a timber-frame structure. Twelve-inch wide pine planks were used for the main level flooring at the great-room, laundry and two bedrooms and baths. The downstairs floor is stained concrete where the owners have their offices on opposite ends of a common room. Generous French doors with operable sidelights

5 Swedish Barn Home

open onto a patio and fireplace, further capturing the forest views.

Interior Design The interior designer on this project is also the homeowner who has worked with wkm Architecture since 2001. Desiring a sustainable approach to the project and starting from scratch in terms of furnishings, there are only four new pieces of furniture in the house. All the remaining pieces are locally recycled and reused, while supporting the Swedish Barn Home design narrative.

Architect William K. Mayfield, AIA wkm Architecture + Design

Interior Design Jayne Price, Jayne Price Designs wkm Architecture +Design

Contractor Lonnie Sweers, Sweers Construction

Structural Engineer Scott Haggblade Donald Urfer & Assoc.

Cabinetry Jay Dorn, NorCal Construction


William K. Mayfield, AIA

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In the spring of 2009, I met with Dana Morgan regarding a new home for him and his wife, Paula, on the outskirts of Scotts Valley. He was in the process of purchasing a fourteen-acre portion of an old apple orchard called the Blair Ranch. He had already met with a county planner and been told enthusiastically that he could easily remove the existing mid-century ranch house and build the home of their dreams.

Dana is an avid antique car collector. He used to own a local amusement ride design firm where Paula worked with him as a designer. They lived in Scotts Valley for years and raised their children there. Now that it was just the two of them, Dana wanted to have his extensive car collection closer to home and also to provide room for their grandchildren.

As designers, they knew what they wanted for their new home. They arrived with magazine clippings, floor plans and site plans. They wanted a single story craftsman style home where the garage and workshop were almost as large as the house. I got to work and created what they had in mind.

The property is located just beyond the City of Scotts Valley boundary in the County of Santa Cruz. We worked our way through the myriad of rural property related issues and designed a fully fire-rated home. We submitted the plans, and the Morgans started to plan for construction. They demolished the existing ranch home, sold their Scotts Valley home and moved into a motor home on the property.

6 The Blair Ranch Project

Similar to the Blair Witch Project movie, where the filmmakers disappeared but their movie remained, a prehistoric landslide had to disappear for the Morgan residence to appear. During the county review, it was discovered that a landslide may have occurred on the property thousands of years ago. With the help of a creative team of geologists and geotechnical engineers, we were able to get final approval for the home in 2010.

After almost two years of living in a motor home, the Morgans were finally able to move into their new home last fall. I encourage you to make the trip to visit this beautiful craftsman home. A bonus is that you will also see several antique cars!

Architect Bill Kempf

Structural Engineer John Frazer

Civil Engineer Civil Consultants Group

Geotechnical Engineer CMAG Engineering

Geologists Jim Olson & Erik Zinn

Septic Design Biosphere Consulting

Energy Design Bright Green Strategies

Contractor Hazen Construction


William C. Kempf

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It began back in 1970: A simple ranch style home was built on the summit where there was a fantastic view of the mountains. Fast forward forty years: Diane and Tom, the owners of this fabulous property, wished to convert the aging single-story home into an Italian villa, complete with stone walls, tiled niches, wrought iron gates and rails, travertine pathways, Spanish tile roofing, and exposed rafter tails, beams, lintels and custom-made shutters built from recycled timber.

The most memorable part of this project was working with Diane to create a design that embodied her memories of Tuscany and that paid tribute to her late father who lived in Rome. And, the most difficult part, was navigating through the treacherous Santa Cruz County Geologic requirements in an effort to discover a way to design an aesthetically pleasing and functional home without impediment.

Now complete, the extensively remodeled lower level includes a new kitchen, entry, great room, TV room, guest bathroom and mudroom/laundry room. Strong Italian design elements are woven throughout the interiors. Wall plaster has been used in select areas to impart authenticity. The brick used on the windowsills, retaining wall caps and around exterior doorways and arches, is reflected inside the home at niches and around the fireplace. The interior trim and stain at the windows, doors and baseboards matches the old-world finish on the ‘Craftsman in Wood’ doors. The lighting is carefully selected throughout. And the cabinetry is beautiful in its simple yet ornate detailing. Two fine touches to note: one is the concrete fireplace mantel that you won’t know is concrete until you

7 Hilltop Italian Villa

touch it, the other is the tile artwork on the backsplash behind the oven/range unit which Diane had commissioned to show the home of her late father. The second-story addition houses a perfect get-away for Tom, including a gym with a modest media area and a large but sequestered office. An outdoor deck is accessible off both the upper level rooms. And the deck, like the veranda below, looks over the same extraordinary view and landscape that has always made this a unique property.

Owners

Architect Stephanie Barnes-Castro

Contractor James Hartje Construction

Tile & Granite Design Kay Heizman Design

Kitchen Designer Yvonne Ross

Landscape Designer Elizabeth Burton

Cabinetry Ueberrhein Cabinets

Lath & Plaster Ramsey Lath & Plaster

Masonry Benson Masonry

Painting Tom Hartje Painting

Roofing Scudder Roofing

Tile Jim Marty Tile


Stephanie Barnes-Castro

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The cabinets are stunning: solid walnut, with a strong dark horizontal grain that moves gently across the space, reminiscent of the nearby ocean. The eye drops to the backsplash: trapezoidal sea green glass tiles that fit together perfectly, creating additional waves against the wall.

It wasn’t always like this. The décor was dark, with appliances awkwardly situated. The kitchen was walled off from the dining room and accessible only by a pocket door. The owners were clearly set on a “mid-century modern meets The Jetsons” aesthetic. Anything from either 1950 or 2050 was fine, just nothing in between. They appreciated the Talmadge team’s respect for their vision. “Danielle picked right up on our style and the functionality of where things should go,” according to the owners. They were also impressed with her grasp of the importance of details. “It was Danielle’s idea to install a plug strip underneath the cabinets. We have this beautiful tile, and plugs would have broken up the look.”

The new kitchen keeps the same footprint as the original but results in a tremendous increase in both counter and cabinet space. The reconfigured island comfortably seats four while leaving plenty of room for food prep. The trash and recycle bins are now hidden in a rollout cabinet of their own and non-perishables now have their own pantry —deep shelves next to the built-in refrigerator that slide out for easy access. “We didn’t have any space in the kitchen for food before; we had to keep it all in the garage!” says the owner.

8 Mid-Century Modern

Rooms adjacent to the kitchen also got a face-lift. A gas insert rendered the family room fireplace hearth unnecessary so it was removed, increasing available floor space. The floor-to-ceiling brick mantel was replaced with much lighter and brighter gray-green pastel quartz. The same quartz was also added to an entryway wall, replacing an awkwardly placed closet and adding a lovely point of interest. Finally, hardwood flooring ties together the dining room, kitchen, and family room area. These wide blond oak planks nicely match their mid-century aesthetic. Owners

Architect Danielle Grenier

Contractor Talmadge Construction, Inc.

Cabinets Schmitz Woodworks


Danielle Grenier