ARBOR RESIDENCE: MOSS BEACH, CA

The project is located on a cul-de-sac approximately .17 miles West of Highway 1 in Moss Beach along the San Mateo County coastline. The coastal bluff is approximately 50 feet away from the property and overlooks the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The immediate surroundings of the project include one single family home to the east and a vacant property owned by the home owners association to the North. The size of the site measures approximately 14,000 SF.

The project is a new single family residence covering an estimated area of 3,500 square feet with an attached two car garage. The design and scale of the project was strategized to relate to the immediate neighborhood. While the new structure uses contemporary strategies for incorporating passive solar, it also opens up to the outdoor spaces and retains the native surrounding habitat as recommended by the biology report obtained. From the street the project scale is kept low to create visibility and reduce solid two-story wall surfaces. The use of environmentally conscious materials throughout the house helps to emphasize the warmth and character as well as blend with the natural surrounding landscape. Western red cedar exterior walls, and warm plaster walls relate to the cliff, trees and vegetation. Large South facing windows will open to the views of the surrounding landscape while also providing passive solar heating within the home. Varying roof slopes allow the house to be nested into the low-lying neighborhood, while the granite on the exterior roofing reflects the rocks along the cliff.

© 2014 carlos zubieta architecture