Los Altos Hills Residence

While the project’s official title, the Energy Efficient Sustainable Personal Residential Development doesn’t roll off the tongue, the development’s embodied technologies create a dynamic, high-performance dwelling that lives up to its moniker. From the pioneering hydronic cooling system, to the robust 30 kW photovoltaic system, to the continuously insulated thermal envelope; the project’s systems and building technologies define a modern home that is not just skin deep. The technology however is balanced by an equal measure of art and design with generous, light-filled volumes; a dramatic glass stair and elevator; and an envelope wrapped plaster and Shou Sugi Ban siding – a traditional Japanese technique of charring the siding to increase it’s fire and decay resistance as well as enhancing it’s stunning natural character.