We’re really delighted with this Piedmont front yard transformation – the homeowners had wanted a more water-conserving garden, and Plant Stars, landscape designers, replaced thirsty lawns and plantings with a new welcoming stone patio and low water-use planting. However it took a variance for this front yard hardscape to be approved due to the planning code, and we made a successful case with eco-friendly and aesthetic choices, and a persuasive presentation before the Commission.

The hardscape design includes low stone walls, stone pavers at the front yard and porch, new concrete front porch steps, new caps to the low porch walls, and a new handrail. Acorn Landscaping is the landscape contractor.

A relaxing water feature is integrated into the hardscape, giving the yard a serene feel – perfect to see neighbors and to enjoy the beautiful outdoor space.

We look forward to returning to see how the couple (literally) of kiwi vines fare on the new rear roof deck trellis – a fun and challenging design of shaped wood beams on an asymmetrical grid of heavy posts, incorporated into an existing roof deck, sporting an overhead steel tube grid with a diamond pattern for the kiwi climbers!

Happy birthday Glen! Our founding Principal, Glen Jarvis, turns 80 on May 23rd, during Jarvis Architects’ 50th year. Glen began his namesake company in April of 1970 after studying Architecture at USC. During the last half century, Jarvis Architects has weathered fires, recessions and now a global pandemic. Our endurance is testimony to Glen’s timeless designs and strength of vision. Congratulations Glen and Jarvis Architects!

The design of this Piedmont home was inspired by French Moderne architecture & the architecture of R.M. Schindler. Schindler also served as the spark of inspiration for the perspective drawing, which evokes his style and color choices.

This unique home is the only of its style in Piedmont and a rare gem in the Greater Bay Area. Robert Mallet Stevens designed many Morderne style houses in Paris, a must-see on a delightful walking tour if you’re there.

Sale pending! These seven Piedmont townhomes designed by Jarvis Architects are grouped around a central courtyard with individual front yards and all garages hidden from the street. We designed these homes to encourage community engagement by including multi-use common spaces and a public path between Linda and Oakland Avenues. The homes’ design take full advantage of the allowable floor area for this property, where the top floor is concealed under the steep roof, punctuated with many dormers. While the townhomes are larger than most neighboring houses, their richness in a variety of architectural details render them similar in scale.

Whether designing new spaces or re-designing existing ones, we search for ways to maximize ambient, natural light and create open interior junctions. For this particular project, architect Cindy Chan reformatted the secondary entrance of this home by removing the walls and door that enclosed the service stair leading from kitchen to driveway. At the upper landing of the stair, she created a built-in bench with cubbies to serve as a mudroom/ storage area. At the lower landing where the exterior door exits to the driveway, she added a large transom window, creating a two-story view with an extra boost of daylight. An interior window set into the stairway wall connects to an adjacent office, perpetuating the circulation of light from the outside. A new lower floor bathroom is lit by a strip of interior skylights, set under the transom and office windows, which filter natural light into an otherwise windowless space. The exterior of the skylight shaft is disguised as a wood paneled wall along the stair. LED strip lights are set into the skylight well in the bathroom, which give the effect of natural light during hours when the house is in shadow. The triangulation of transom, interior window and skylight allow for the proliferation of natural light, even in areas not directly exposed to it.

above: views from the upper landing of transom window, interior window and skylight

 

above: skylight well with LED strip lights in the lower floor bathroom

 

above: the interior skylight channels ambient light from the floor above, and LED strip lights brighten the interior, creating the look and feel of natural lighting.

 

A Craftsman Shingle home with an addition and extensive remodeling designed by Jarvis Architects has just broken the Albany record for home sale prices. Originally a single story home, it was purchased by the sellers in the late 80’s with the intention of building upwards to capture Bay views.  The original owners worked with Glen Jarvis to build a second story addition that harmonized with the late Craftsman look and feel of the original structure. At the time, there were very few two story homes in Albany. It sold at over $2 million this spring. We love revisiting old projects, and relishing the rich details of each!

See articles on the sale here and here

See the home’s listing (with more photos!) here

In January, architects Cindy and Arleta visited the Kohala coast jobsite where a client’s new home is starting to take shape. The stately structure offers stunning views and sculptural details: tapered stucco walls and natural-stained shaped beam ends add drama to passageways and roof lines.

 

The beach is best viewed from the great room, main lanai, and pool.

 

The rugged local terrain is reflected in the use of natural materials, such as lava rock retaining walls that lead from the master bedroom to a lush garden of natural ponds and milo trees.

We won!

Thank you to our many clients, colleagues and friends for voting us Best Residential Architects in Oakland Magazine’s Best of Oakland and the East Bay contest.  It’s an honor to have served the Bay Area in this field for over 40 years, and to continue this wonderful work.

Check out Oakland Magazine’s July issue for more!

This eclectic 1923 Berkeley Arts and Crafts home was ravaged by a fire in 2013.  Though much of the exterior structure was saved, the interiors–the real heart of the home–were completely destroyed.  Styling and re-finishing the home had been a decades-long labor of love for its owners, who’d hand painted and hand stained every existing original surface. Throughout the process, they’d added their own unique stylings to the interiors, creating one of the most ‘Berkeley” of homes in the Berkeley Hills.  Though utterly devastating, the fire provided a rare opportunity for the couple to enact some much needed updates to the home’s interiors, while maintaining the stylistic integrity of the original.

 

Above: view of restoration from the patio

 

Above: Photo from the Daily Californian depicting the fire damage on the still-smoldering home

 

Architects Robin Pennell and Jon Larson worked with Berkeley’s Planning and Building Departments to seamlessly integrate the stringent Hillside Fire and Building requirements into the restoration of the home. Jon collaborated with the homeowners, working tirelessly to recreate and at times re-imagine the spaces of the restored structure. Peter Singelstad of Singelstad Construction in Orinda was brought in, and his crew rebuilt the home with all the love and care required for such an undertaking. Once the home was deemed complete, the homeowners directed their efforts to the interiors, lovingly restoring each space to its unique splendor. The intricate, painstaking work of adding final finishes continues today, and will continue for some years to come.

 

Above: the restored dining room retains the home’s original tiled fireplace

 

Above: view of fire damage to the master bedroom

 

Above: restored living room with inglenook (as featured in May of our 2016 Jarvis Architects calendar!)

 

 

Each year, the Piedmont Design Awards spotlight outstanding projects in categories ranging from Storybook Architecture to Detached Second Units. At this year’s ceremony, architects Arleta Chang and Cindy Chan took home the award for Excellent Indoor/Outdoor Living Space. Congratulations, Arleta and Cindy!

The project, a remodel and addition to the home of clients Hanna Lin and Michael Lucaccini, involved transforming the back of the house to accommodate a series of tiered decks. Together with Mitch Filbert of Construction Effects, they converted an existing carport into a 2-car garage with a roof deck, and added a stairway to the rear yard. The addition of a family room to the main level of the home increased the square footage of the upper deck. In keeping with the Craftsman and Prairie styles of its exterior, the railings, finishes, and other details of the addition were selected to harmonize with the existing structure.

Above: Tiered back decks and stairway, as seen from the back garden

 

During the design process, particular care was vested in featuring views and light prominently.  Large accordion doors open out from the kitchen and onto the main deck, adding drama to the interplay between interior and exterior.  The doors span the entire western wall of the kitchen, and when fully opened act as a giant gateway, emphasizing the panoramic bay views afforded by the property’s location. The interiors of the home are understated and modern; warm woods, clean whites, and continuous lines provide the ideal backdrop for the drama of shifting light, as it moves from the east in the morning, filtering through a large skylight in the remodeled bath, then travels West, illuminating the remodeled kitchen and family room in the evening.  All aspects of this project, interior and exterior, seem in service of this play of light.

Above: Large accordion doors integrate the main patio with the family room