Custom Tile design from Villeroy & Boch, Bernina collection
Layout Scheme: BathLayout

IKEA kitchen, Ecotimber bamboo engineered hardwoood floor

Custom shelving

3000 sqft new construction residence in Burlingame. Street elevation.
All windows by Zola.

This waste wood power plant in Austria is another project in cooperation with our partner firm e-f-p in Innsbruck. While power plants may not be our typical type of project, we are happy to contribute to projects that focus on a sustainable production of energy. These small local plants are community operated and highly efficient.

A waste wood power plant requires a series of sheds that are defined in size by the mechanical engineers. Together with a tight budget, there is usually little room for flexibility in architecture. The specific site features a small hill which was expected to be removed to make space for the required sheds. However, we discovered that the cost of burying the plant in the hill was completely offset by the savings of not hauling the hill away.

Sustainable solutions do not need to be expensive, high-tech and complicated, but often simple and obvious. Burying the plant has a number of advantages in regard to sustainability: less impervious surfaces, no heat-island effect, less dirt-hauling CO2 emmissions, less disruption to habitat and many more.

The project remains unbuilt because final calculations showed the areas energy needs are lower than expected and too low to sustain the plant at this time. While it is disappointing to see a project postponed, as a green design firm we are happy that it was because of lower than expected energy use.

The Nice residence is a 1,800 square feet addition to an existing three bedroom Oakland Hills residence. Floor to ceiling windows and lofts in the bedrooms make the most out of the sweeping view. The family spends a lot of time in the garden and on their existing deck, and enhancing the flow of inside and outside spaces is a core goal of the project.

The design draws heavily on passive solar design, creating a balance between solar gain (sunlight and energy coming in), thermal mass on the inside to balance the temperature over the course of the day and great insulation to create comfortable interior temperatures with minimal heating needs. Remaining energy needs are covered by hydronic radiant heating, served by solar collectors on the roof.

The project is nearly hidden from the driveway, giving the owners exceptional privacy.

This residence is located on the outskirts of Australia’s capital, facing a nature preserve. The project extends an older and smaller residence that the family outgrew. Ceiling heights up to eighteen feet allow plenty of ventilation to enjoy warm Australian summers without airconditioning. Solar collectors provide hot water, and decks, countertops and benches are made from reclaimed wood as wood is a scarce and often imported material in Australia.

Construction was completed in March 2008.

This project is located in the heart of Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city. The city is built around the Limmat River and Lake Zurich. An artificial island is located at the mouth of the river. Formerly used as protection for the city, it now serves as a venue for seasonal exhibitions including circus visits.

The project proposes a small confernce hall on the island. It is designed as a prefabricated structure of glass and steel, which can be erected on site with minimal site disturbance. Should the cities needs change again, it can be easily dismantled and moved to a new site.

The project is unbuilt.

Labels Luxury Consignment, well known for their Walnut Creek store, is expanding to Berkeley with a second location devoted to hand bags. The new store in the Elmwod district is in a converted former car mechanics shop and the design blends elements of the historic building with a sleek new display concept. Labels Berkeley opened in July 2010..

This five-star wellness hotel in the German Alps is a renovation of a 19th-century Scottish style castle, with an addition of a large new hotel wing and a wellness center. The hotels features majestic views of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain, indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, lounges and everything you need for a few relaxing days. If you plan a trip to Germany, we highly recommend a visit to this peaceful mountain retreat.

The project was designed in cooperation with our Austrian partner firm e-f-p and completed in 2007.

The 100-room addition was carefully sited in the existing terrain to preserve the charme of the original structure.

The castle interioirs were updated to the demands of a five-star hotel and now boast bars, game rooms and luxury suites.

An aerial view shows the whole complex – the old structure, the new addition and the wellness pavillion.

Luxurios community living – that was the aim of this project on the eastern side of the lake Zurich. The project is located on the site of an old farmhouse among apple trees, featuring wide views over the lake and city. Each of the four buildings contains three living communities. Due to punctual high density the amount of covered land could be kept low, saving the area’s non-urban atmosphere and limiting the environmental impact.

The courtyards form the social center of each complex, being looked upon by the enclosed verandas, serving as circulation to the individual rooms on the first floor. All bedrooms are oriented towards the orchard to guarantee a maximum of privacy. Kitchen, dining and living spaces fo each community are situated on the ground floor.

The project is unbuilt.