Alamo Square House, Contemporary Home, San Francisco Residence Images

Alamo Square Residence

New Residence in San Francisco, California: Property in Western USA design by Jensen Architects

Aug 31 + Jun 17, 2017

Alamo Square House

Design: Jensen Architects

Location: Alamo Square Park, San Francisco, CA, USA

Alamo Square House – 2017 AIASF Historic Preservation Commendation Award Recipient

This residence embodies San Francisco’s contemporary culture: modern yet enamored with the city’s rich history. The setting is Alamo Square Park, a city-owned park built in 1857 and known for its “Painted Ladies,” the row of Victorian homes captured on many postcards. The previous owner of the residence, Verta Vinson, was a founding member of the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, which was established in the 1960s to preserve the park and surrounding buildings.

The current owners had lived in the neighborhood for years. While they loved Alamo Square’s historic architecture, they desired the openness and flexibility of contemporary homes. This desire informed an architectural composition that integrates two identities and provides for the coexistence of old and new.

The challenge of restoring the original 1889 façade stemmed from a lack of documentation concerning historic details. Instead the team turned to evidence uncovered after the removal of the non-historic façade, such as scarring and shadow vestiges of the original Stick style. These physical remnants, a few historic photographs, and existing original ornamentation, laid the groundwork for collaboration with craftspeople skilled in historic Victorian restoration, leading to a faithful reconstruction. Once completed, the restored façade was painted silver, hinting at the modern transformation within.

Beyond the threshold, the house’s original identity is legible in the elongated proportions of the interior spaces. A sculptural stair rising through all four floors provides a dramatic focal point while allowing natural light to flood the house from above. The form of the stair, a twisted volume, alternates wood-clad solids with light-filled voids.

Bedrooms and kitchen/living areas occupy the second and third floors, respectively, and a small garden apartment sits at ground level. The stair culminates at the roof with sweeping views that connect back to the historic city and the Bay beyond.

A muted interior palette of bleached white oak, marble and neutral colors, contrasts with the rich materiality of the fumed oak of the central stair, bringing the sculptural form into relief. Subtle yet intricate elements such as the fireplace tile and kitchen details offer a quiet nod to the more ornate façade.

Sliding mill-finished aluminum screens compose the rear façade. The motorized custom laser-cut panels provide privacy while allowing views outward. They are controlled independently at each floor according to the mood of what’s happening within

Alamo Square Residence San Francisco – Building Information

Project Name: Alamo Square Residence
Project Location: 1164 Fulton St., San Francisco, CA 94117
Client: John & Amanda Conomos
Type of Business/Use: Residential
Date of Completion: August 2016

Design Team and Credit Information
Jensen Architects: Mark Jensen, Emily Gosack, Yusheen Yang (project leads) Keri Goodlad, Ricardo Gonzalez (project team)
Structural Engineer: Holmes Structures
MEP Engineers: Engineering 350
Land Surveyor: CSW/Stuber-Stroeh Engineering Group, Inc.
Historical Consultant: Tim Kelley Consulting
Landscape Architect: Surface Design
Interior Designer: Hulburd Design
Lighting Controls, A/V: SoundVision
Acoustical: Acoustic Arts & Engineering
Photographer: Joe Fletcher

Construction Data
Contractor: Dromhus General Contractors
Subs and Suppliers: Skeeter Jones (historic restoration sub)
Mid Peninsula Electric (electrical)
ROS Plumbing (plumbing)
Western States (fire protection)
Emerald Steel (structural steel)
Architectural Metal Services (metal fabrication)
Artistic Geometry (tile)
Westco Roofing (roofing)
Curtis & Son (doors)
United California Glass (glass)
Fleetwood (aluminum windows)
Mueller Nicholls (custom casework)
Flynn & Enslow (perforated panels)
Dickson Plastering (exterior stucco)
Olivier Garnier Interior Finishes (marmarino plaster)
Westwater Painting (paint)
Park View Construction (concrete finishing sub)
Clastic Design (architectural concrete)
Acme (elevator)
Johanna Grawunder (custom lighting)
Forevergreen Landscape (landscape sub)
Habitat Horticulture (living wall)
Florasource, Ltd (green roof trays)
Hayasa Flooring Design (wood floor)

Major Materials:
Aluminum Perforated Panels, Wood Floor, Stair Cladding, Custom Concrete Casework, Custom Casework, Tile Fireplace, Historic Façade Restoration

Size/Floor Area:
Residence w/Garage: 4,269 sq.ft.
Exterior Deck and porch: 374 sq.ft.
Total: 4,643 sq.ft.

Fronting Alamo Square Park, a historic landmark within San Francisco, this three-story residence is a house with two faces. From the street, the original 1889 facade was faithfully restored, and appears to have been dipped in a modern bath of silver paint, hinting at the transformation within. The rear façade reveals the building’s new identity in a multi-layered composition of sliding aluminum screens and glass.

Upon entering, the house is punctured with light from above and is organized around a sculptural staircase. The form of the stair, a twisted volume, alternates wood-clad solids with light-filled voids. The stair culminates at the roof with sweeping views that connect back to the historic city and the Bay beyond.

Sliding mill-finished aluminum screens compose the rear façade. The motorized custom laser- cut panels provide privacy while allowing views outward and are controlled at each floor according to the mood of what’s happening within.

The re-imagined residence embodies San Francisco’s contemporary culture: modern yet enamored with the city’s rich history. The owners, a family of four, had lived in the neighborhood for years. While they loved Alamo Square’s historic architecture, they desired the openness and flexibility of contemporary residences. Bedrooms and kitchen/living areas occupy the second and third floors, respectively, and a small garden apartment is set at ground level.

Alamo Square Park, a city-owned park built in 1857, is most known for its “Painted Ladies,” the neighboring row of Victorian homes seen on many postcards. The home’s previous owner, Verta Vinson was a founding member of the Alamo Square Neighborhood, established in the 1960s to preserve the park and surrounding buildings.

Alamo Square Residence in San Francisco – Building Information

ALAMO SQUARE RESIDENCE, San Francisco, California | 2016
Architects: Jensen Architects
Client: Withheld
General Contractor: Dromhus General Contractors
Photographer: Joe Fletcher

Alamo Square home wins an American Architecture Award

One of seventy-nine shortlisted buildings that have won the prestigious 2017 American Architecture Awards ® for the best new buildings designed and constructed by American architects in the U.S. and abroad and by international architects for buildings designed and built in the United States.

Alamo Square House in California images / information from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies

Location: Alamo Square, San Francisco, North California, USA