Ranch House Conversion | Big Barn | Glen Ellen | California |Faulkner Architects

A San Francisco family of four asked us to create a retreat from their urban lifestyle, reusing the footprint of an existing 1950s ranch house in Glen Ellen, California, while building in a consistent way with the area’s rolling hills and agricultural structures.

Glen Ellen has many barn-like houses that confusingly mash up two design vocabularies, pasting residential-style overhangs and fenestration on barn forms in a kitschy blend. In contrast, this 3,900-square-foot house, dubbed the “Big Barn,” draws authentic inspiration from the site’s existing Tack Barn, which we had previously renovated into a bunk house. A simple, rectangular, two-story form emerged with an asymmetrical gabled roof. The shorter side of the roof faces the southwest sun and reduces heat gain to the structure. Fenestration is limited to this exposure as well and is organized as thin, full-height ventilation shutters that reference traditional barn building.

The entry, a larger version of the vertical slit elements, is recessed for shading. The fireplace and chimney, foreign to the barn typology, are displaced from the structure with glazed joints. The east side is more open to the view and morning sun.....more

House Remodelling | Ranch House To Modern Extended Family Home | Los Angeles | Kevin Daly Architects

The design was impeded by several zoning restrictions which necessitated that this project be defined as a remodel. As a result, only 50% of the existing square footage could be added to the project. To respond to both the clients’ needs and these restrictions, KDA designed a new steel structure to be placed over and around the existing wood-framed house, creating an upper level with roof gardens.

Interior walls on the first floor were removed to create an open, loft-like space in the living/dining and kitchen. Corners of the existing first floor roof and walls have been sliced away to balance the geometries of the new second floor addition. The relatively small bedrooms are made larger by locating one single large opening that looks out to the view and in some cases opens onto the new roof garden. The exterior stucco is coated with bright orange elastomeric to create a monolithic appearance. The garage is planted with an intensive green roof to be used as a herb and vegetable garden.....more

Ranch House Renovation | Los Feliz Residence | Bestor Architecture

Bestor Architecture renovated a modern ranch house from the 1960’s into a contemporary, open plan house for a busy producer and her son. The original roof was uncovered and the flow was reorganized to take advantage of the view and access to the outdoors. Interiors by Carter Design. Featured in The Boston Globe Magazine.......more

Indian Springs Ranch Residence | Jackson | Wyoming | Carney Logan Burke Architects

The client – a couple with two young children relocating from New York City – wanted a contemporary home but were limited by strict covenants and restrictions imposed by their Homeowner’s association. The Architect’s solution synthesized these opposites: the house would reflect both the rustic and reductive, satisfying the subdivisions conservative building constraints but creating the clean, contemporary home environment the owner desired.........more

1000 Acre Ranch Paige, Texas | Panton Architect Design

A hilltop courtyard formed from cedar and boulders overlooking 1000 acres of grassland and pine forest. Panton Architect Design build project.
This project is the result of collaboration between Henry and TV/Film Director.
The hilltop site offered panoramic views in every direction.
The long narrow floor plan provides each interior space with ample views and natural light, while encircling a protected courtyard on the hilltop.
Along the perimeter, every room has glass doors that open out onto the prairie. Inside the courtyard, a detached studio frames views to the north and east, while a south-facing wrap-around porch invites the prevailing southerly breezes.

3700 sq.ft.
2400 sq.ft. of porches and patios
Principal Materials: Locally grown and milled smooth sawn cedar timbers and siding, mossy boulder masonry columns and fireplace, travertine floors, recycled glass tiles, Oklahoma sandstone patio, integral color stucco......more

Dialogue House | Phoenix, Arizona | Wendell Burnette Architects

Within the immediate suburb context in the 1950's-60's ranch houses, the site is occupied by two volumes.One is an elevated space above work,guest and the car, set furthest from the street in the upper northwest corner of the site. The main volume is focused toward the downtown Phoenix skyline stacked against the backdrop of South Mountain and The Sierra Estrella Range to capture the Magic Hour of sunset stretching the horizon of the desert.A glowing box coated in purple black geology floating on lateral pin wheel brace of charcoal masonry walls that extend cardinally beyond and capture the site. In dialogue with the floating volume is another set near the street perpendicular to the slope on axis with horizon; its tall charcoal masonry walls rise from the earth pointed upward to the sky.The interior plastered white,half filled with water, reflects the light and shadows of the space, providing an foreground to the skyline beyond.
Text and images from Wendell Burnette Architects