PROJECTS | RESIDENTIAL | PT. REYES STATION

PT. REYES STATION​

Commissioned as a second home for a blended Bay Area family, the Pt. Reyes residence was built as a retreat for friends and relatives alike. Sitting on a bucolic 1 acre lot, the design retains as much of the site as possible as a natural, open field bordered by existing oaks, with the “L” shaped house serving as a ‘great’ wall enclosing the landscape. The north side of the residence is modest - with small openings, a corrugated sheet metal roof, and a dark board and batten facade echoing the typology of rural West Marin. Facing the road and surrounding neighborhood, this side is purposely unassuming, concealing what lies within. Passing through the house, one is greeted with the other facade. Clad with well-crafted, clear-finished cedar vertical siding reminiscent of locally established North Coast Modernism, the south side of the residence opens itself up, with large windows offering sweeping views of the protected meadow and the misty, beckoning(did you mean beckoning?) Inverness hills beyond. Existing oak trees, native plants, and tall grasses populate the site. A small, decomposed gravel fire-pit area and a meandering wood deck create more outdoor space in which to relax, socialize and become part of the scenery. The overall exterior material palette consists of largely rustic, natural materials. From the bonderized metal roof, clear-coated wood siding, and rusted steel site detailing, the house is designed to look comfortable on the land. 

 

The home is made up of two wings. The primary wing serves as the main living area, and opens up to the field with a 30’ glass door assembly the owners have christened ‘the big ass door’, firmly bringing an awareness of the meadow into the house. The interior finishes are minimal and clean, with large areas of white wall for prints and paintings, and more intimate recesses to display the client’s collection of folk and fine art. A subtle reveal at the top of the walls creates the effect of a floating ceiling, bringing a lightness to the interior. The focal point of the primary wing is the dining room, where an aedicula-like folly connects two posts and frames the space where friends and family gather over meals, recalling the lightly-built barns scattered throughout Marin county.

 

The secondary wing houses guests and is capped off by an exterior breezeway for entertaining. Referencing the summer camp and retreat camp houses of the San Francisco peninsula, the breezeway is largely unfinished on the inside, with exposed wood framing and a raw concrete slab floor. The breezeway includes an outdoor kitchen focused on a wood-fired pizza oven. The adjacent deck offers generous space for an outdoor dining area or clusters of seating which, like the primary wing, turns one’s attention towards the meadow and the Inverness hills.

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