An Elegant Contemporary Home for a Young Deaf Family in Palo Alto, California

Edgewood House is an elegant contemporary home located in Palo Alto, California, USA. It was renovated by Terry & Terry Architecture, this unique and eco-friendly modern house has a high-efficiency tankless instant water heater provides all the domestic hot water.

by Claudia Oct 21, 2022 16 Images

Edgewood House by Terry & Terry Architecture

The design consists of transforming a 1950’s existing Joseph Eichler home. Using a complimenting modern material palette, the design utilizes the primary floor plan, transforming the existing space and forming the new second floor by folding out a series of horizontal and vertical planes of the ground floor. The new roof form creates a large central area and houses a second-floor bedroom wing. Poured-in-place concrete masses support the roofs, upper floor, and cantilevered main stair landing.

The dwelling is designed for a young deaf family, who desired an expanded open plan that incorporates Deaf- Space, creating great transparency throughout the home, where vision and touch are primary means of spatial awareness and orientation.

The main living space is situated on the ground floor and offers expansive living spaces that extend into the landscape. Fired black basalt stone pavers flow throughout the ground floor complimenting the cedar wood ceiling of the new roof. The new roof form creates a large central area and houses a second-floor bedroom wing. Poured-in-place concrete masses support the roofs, upper floor, and cantilevered main stair landing. Two existing bedrooms and office areas are reconfigured to allow more transparency in the gardens. The second floor accommodates an extended family with a set of bedrooms, bathrooms, and sleeping porches.

The design of the building incorporates many passive and active sustainable energy elements. The East and West facades are widely open to allow for passive solar heating in the winter and natural light year-round, while deep overhangs provide shading in the summer. In-floor hydronic radiant heating offers clean and efficient heat. For renewable energy, the project integrates photovoltaic panels, solar water heating, and rain catchment systems to offset energy and water loads.