The clients for this project, committed to an urban lifestyle and the lighter environmental footprint it allows, decided to build an environmentally friendly infill home in San Francisco. While they completely demolished the existing run-down house, all the framing lumber from the previous home was reused where possible, including select cabinetry and a beautiful spine wall that runs through the house. A greywater system recycles water for flushing toilets, and solar panels provide renewable electricity.
Perhaps the ultimate beauty of this home is the way the sustainable design elements fit seamlessly into a modern, family-focused layout where all the details are thought through. The entry stair’s bottom step rolls out for storage; further up the staircase, a wall of cabinetry includes niches that break it up and offer moments of levity. Throughout the house, old and new mix effortlessly, from reused materials in modern applications to old-fashioned fixtures with modern twists. And even though the project was completed before Covid became a household name, an entryway sink is curiously prescient of pandemic hygiene.
