South Bay House by StudioAC

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Design Solution: To create a more dynamic interaction with the landscape, StudioAC designed three “living bars” that intersect and shift across the site. This configuration generates outdoor microclimates that provide wind protection across seasons and selectively frame views. These deliberate interruptions reshape the experience of both the house and its surroundings, offering varied vantage points and an evolving spatial narrative.

A distinctive rethinking of the main living spaces introduces “landscape” versus “portrait” orientations. While the firm’s previous projects utilized a repeating rectangular grid with the long dimension shared across spaces, South Bay House rotates this grid to share the short side. The resulting 48-foot-by-12-foot living area expands the facade facing the view, reducing the perceived distance to the landscape and dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior. When seated, the proximity to expansive windows removes architectural obstructions from peripheral vision, drawing focus entirely outward.

The roof form comprises three mirrored shed structures. At the main living bar, these forms intersect to create protected outdoor spaces under a unified canopy that offers both shelter and solar shading. The resulting roofscape introduces a dynamic topography to an otherwise flat site, inviting the eye to traverse its undulating forms as one might follow rolling hills or jagged mountains. This approach balances practicality—shedding elements—with a sculptural energy enriching both interior and exterior experiences. Bedrooms and living spaces benefit from the expressive geometry, enhancing the sense of volume and the project’s contemporary reinterpretation of rural vernacular architecture.

Photo © Felix Michaud

Structure and Materials: The interior palette is predominantly plywood, with white walls below a datum aligned with the roof geometry. Wet areas, including an indoor spa, are finished in contrasting tile, offering a tactile and visual distinction. The exterior is clad in a singular gray stained wood to allow the interplay of forms to be highlighted via shadow and profile.

Although the resulting architecture appears complex, its foundation lies in familiar proportions and vernacular forms. Its uniqueness emerges from the interplay of these shapes and their contrast with the landscape, producing a house that attempts to both frame and engage with its natural surroundings.

Additional Information
Completion date: September 2024
Site size: 4.35 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Withheld

Photos © Felix Michaud

Images courtesy StudioAC; click to enlarge