This Midcentury Inspired House Has Sustainability at Its Heart

Sonoma Residence

Gifted with a favorable site, San Francisco based architectural firm Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects design a midcentury modern home on a “meadow dotted with magnificent oaks”. The property sits on a gentle slope that continues to a spring fed pond, creating a verdant vegetation surrounding this contemporary house.

The clients had a specific request – a house designed for indoor and outdoor living. They wanted to enjoy the Sonoma summers and hoped that the 450 sqm home could be conducive to catering guests and visitors. With this in mind, they likewise wanted their guests to enjoy a pool that extends to the pool beyond. The architects responded by creating a design that frames the lush meadows and extends it to the pond beyond.

Sonoma Residence
Sonoma Residence

Programmatically, Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects opted to divide the property into three buildings – the main residence, the carport and the guest house. The 274 sqm main house has an L-shaped plan to maximize its views to the lush courtyard. The 78 sqm guest house can be a stand alone property and has easy access to the pool.

The large carport – more than 100 sqm, features abundant storage space and a vegetable garden behind. While each individual structure is independent, they all respond to specific site conditions that contribute to the overall experience of whoever visits the Sonoma Residence.

Sonoma Residence
Sonoma Residence

Distinctly modern, a thin floating roof extends into the outdoor living spaces to fulfill the clients’ request for outdoor and indoor living not only spatially but also visually. In addition, the roof frames the entry into the primary outdoor living space and provides a threshold between the car port and the pond beyond.

Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects also used the roof as a lynchpin of the other spaces that comprise the property. The bedrooms, kitchen and support spaces fall beneath a single roof in order to strengthen visual connections between the house and the natural environment of its surroundings.

Sonoma Residence
Sonoma Residence

The guest house boasts floor to ceiling sliding glass panels to blur indoor and outdoor. An expansive shade trellis extends into the outdoor, just until the edge of the pool. Equally impressive as it is homey, the pool house includes a playroom, changing room and guest room as well as space for the solar hot water and pool equipment. The pond’s edge is extended and connected to the property through a fire pit and a small dock.

Sonoma Residence
Sonoma Residence

The Sonoma Residence embodies sustainability as it is envisioned to be a net-zero home. The architects detail their sustainability strategies to include: passive cooling, heavy insulation, operable windows and large overhangs.

This allows for the house to remain cool without the use of air conditioning. Photovoltaic powered electric heat pumps also provide hot water for in-slab radiant heat. These design features create a house that does not only celebrate Sonoma summers, but also sustainability.

Sonoma Residence
Photos by Matthew Millman