Point Richmond House

Point Richmond, CA
Project Architect: Josh Horne, AIA
Structural Engineer: Bill Lynch

 In 2020 a bi-coastal family bought a rare, large property in Point Richmond with a 1920s farmhouse on it, one lot that could hold two households, one on each coast finally close enough to share a yard. The plan was to split the parcel and build a new home for the parents to retire and age in place, next door to their daughter's growing family.

The new home draws its spatial logic from the owners' well-loved Moshe Safdie-designed house in Cambridge, what had worked for them there was worth transplanting: an office surrounded by windows just off the living room, generous indoor-outdoor connections, kitchen and bathroom footprints kept deliberately lean. Bay views, proximity to family, and a sense of proportion are what the house is organized around.

Bringing a modern residence through planning approval in Point Richmond required considerably more patience than the design itself. A small number of neighbors objected loudly to what most of the neighborhood quietly welcomed. The design ultimately received accolades for its ability to be unambiguously modern while remaining in proportion with its surroundings. The house is currently under construction, held up at the moment by the City of Richmond and a defunct municipal sewer system.


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