Adagio

This small seaside town is a place of overwhelming natural beauty. From the ocean cliff sides to the groves of Monterey Cypress trees, there is an ever-present sense of being enveloped in the place. Even the air has a presence with its sea salt mist and fog drifts. Carmel-by-the-Sea’s design restrictions on new homes address scale, materials and character. The challenge was to create a modern structure that feels at home in this wooded village that seems to come from a different time.

The strategy for finding harmony for this house in its context was to allow the natural features of the site to take the starring role and let the building be a quiet partner. The house tucks itself into the environment, blending with and relying on the characteristics of the site. Weathering woods and board-formed concrete take visual and textural cues from surrounding trees and the earth. The entry level of the home is set low into grade at the street elevation. Guest bedrooms and exercise space are placed underground. Two gable forms are joined by green roofed, glassy connectors. Holes are cut out of these low canopies to invite light and air into the darker corners of the home. The green roofs sit atop parts of the staggered volumes, pulling the house deeper into the site as it works its way down the steep terrain. The design acknowledges the dominant role the roof plays from the street elevation.

This residence was recruited for inclusion on the AIA Monterey Bay Homes tour and the Monterey Design Conference prior to its completion based on the overwhelmingly positive response to its design by local architects, city planners and neighbors. It is being used as an example of how newly built homes can be both authentic to their time and harmonious in their context.