Ridgetop View
“Our house has been featured in several articles, one of which described it as ‘from funky to fabulous,’ and that’s what happened. We wanted to be very involved with design and materials, and Chas was totally collaborative. The result is quite special to us.”
- Oakland, California
Location:
- OXB Studio Architects
Project Partner:
Situated on 2.3 acres of pristine land, the site offers stunning views of Mt. Diablo to the east and San Francisco Bay to the west. The homeowners and the architects decided that a major addition and remodel was a smarter solution than a tear-down scenario. Abacus began by performing constructability assessments and running various budget projections.
One wonderful aspect of remodeling is how pre-existing conditions often inspire creative solutions. This project capitalized on elements that would never have been designed into new construction—notably a split-level octagonal room with a huge conical faux lava stone fireplace acting as its center column. Abacus collaborated with the architects to devise a combined tension and compression ring system to create a self-supporting octagonal structure. The new great room with faceted glass walls dramatizes the panoramic views.
