turnbull griffin haesloop, berkeley, calif.
When faced with a site as lovely as this Northern California knoll, most architects wouldn’t be able to resist designing a house that’s just as dramatic. But Turnbull Griffin Haesloop restrained itself, and the result is a house whose intimate relationship to the land won over the judges. “The way it works with the site is terrific,” they said.
The project–the last house Eric Haesloop and Mary Griffin worked on with their late partner, William Turnbull, FAIA–conforms to the contours of the property. A glassed-in entry hall sits at the highest point on the knoll, connecting the home’s two wings. “We wanted the house to both acknowledge and claim the site,” says Haesloop. The entry hall accomplishes the former, as its transparency and elevated location allow the knoll to flow right through it. And the cedar-clad wings on either side firmly establish the home’s claim on the land.
project architects: Eric Haesloop, AIA, Mary Griffin, AIA, Turnbull Griffin Haesloop
general contractor: Jim Murphy, Jim Murphy & Associates, Santa Rosa, Calif.
landscape architect: Ron Lutsko, Lutsko Associates, San Francisco
project size: 4,500 square feet
site size: 40 acres
construction cost: Withheld
photographer: Peter Aaron/Esto