AIASF Marin Home Tour: The Sausalito House (15 comments)

Houzz is glad to partner with the AIASF and cover their upcoming Marin Living Home Tours on May 15. Comment on this ideabook for your chance to win a ticket to the tour. See more details at the end of this interview.

The third house we cover in this series is the Sausalito House that was designed by 450 Architects. Beyond the aesthetic considerations, the house is eco-friendly and smart. It boasts the first rainwater harvesting system approved for domestic use in California. Also, it has a comprehensive home automation system capable of controlling all electronic devices remotely by a web-enabled interface.

Congratulations on designing the first rainwater harvesting system to be approved for domestic use in California! Please tell us about how this system works and what it means for the environment. Do you have any advice for those who are interested in installing similar systems for their homes?

Thank you. We are very proud of the fact that our design team was able to work with Marin County to gain the approval for the first permitted rainwater harvest system in California. The team included our office- 450 Architects, the contractor- Quantum Builders, and the civil engineering company- Sherwood Design Engineers. We saw this project as a part of a larger ecological movement and an opportunity to provide leadership for the advancement of sustainable architecture.

The rainwater harvest system collects rain from a low-pitched copper roof and terraces that feed into a 6000 gallon underground cistern. From the cistern, the water is filtered, and delivered to the toilets, laundry, and landscape irrigation. Please contact us, we would love to share our expertise in this area and see rainwater systems on many projects in the future.

Please give our readers who cannot make it to the tour a quick description of the neighborhood/context of the site.

Sausalito is one of the most beautiful and quintessential Marin County communities, with a warm microclimate, lush spring fed vegetation, mature live oaks, orientation to the San Francisco Bay, deeply rooted in its connection to the water and the sailing community.

The site has amazing views of the Bay and San Francisco. The property is a steep, narrow, down slope lot within short walking distance of the town
center. It is located just outside the Sausalito Historic District in a residential neighborhood made up of homes nestled into the landscape, stepping down the sunny east slope of the Bay.


How did you approached the house with regard to this context (i.e. public and private areas)?

The residence is modern while respectful to the historic context, with a strong connection to the site. The street façade is understated with window openings carefully placed to provide privacy and selected views on the public side, while the floor to ceiling high-performance window and door system floods the interiors with light and allow for unobstructed views to the Bay.


This site has a very steep slope. Did you have to do a lot of grading or were you able to work with the slope?

In order to minimize the amount of grading and disruption of the natural terrain, our approach was one large cut to anchor the home to the hillside
with a series of landscaped terraces that gracefully follow the contour of the slope. This is achieved by carefully setting the floor elevations in relation to the slope and neighboring building.

I noticed that your clients requested "meditative" and "nautical" as two of their design guidelines. How did you address these desires? What makes a place meditative?

Our client used the words, “Zen” and “Mediterranean” to describe his desires. Our understanding of this was: Zen in modesty, simplicity, and freedom of distraction from the non-essential, and Mediterranean in the
sense of outdoor experience and connection to the maritime environment. To achieve this we created well proportioned interior spaces with clean lines
and a warm palette of natural materials, extensive windows and a strong connection to the bay.


When designing residences, what kind of features do you feel make a house a home?

Architecture is a foundation that supports the rhythm of daily life and an overall feeling of well being. The design of a successful residence is dependant on a clear understanding of the owner’s daily rhythm, the nature of the site, the appropriate proportion of spaces, the quality of light, and the careful use of materials. Only when these elements are brought together in harmony is there a true sense of well being and the feeling of home.

Please tell those attending the tour some of your favorite details and/or features that they should take notice of when they go through this home.

The simple understated form that the residence presents to the street, the expansive views from the roof terraces, the rain water harvest cistern, and
the details that support comfortable living in the space between indoors and outdoors that provide a unique connection to the beautiful Sausalito
environment.

Finally, the views here are spectacular! How did you ever tear yourselves away when the work was done?

Thankfully we are blessed to practice architecture in the bay area because of its wealth of magnificent sites for us to work with and maintaining long
term relationships with our clients so we never feel that we really need to tear away.

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful house with us.

The AIASF is giving away a ticket to the Marin home tour to one of the lucky readers that will share their thoughts about this house and interview.

For your chance to win the ticket to the Marin Living Home Tours, comment on this interview by Sunday, May 9, at 5pm EST.

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