An 8,000-square-foot house on a flat, half-acre site a mile from Stanford University takes its cues from the urbanity of the community and the sophistication of its owners, who wanted a home suitable for displaying their contemporary art collection.
The house opens itself on all sides through a pinwheel plan that forms four distinct courtyards. Two two-story volumes are connected by taut horizontal planes that extend beyond the building envelope and are clad in gray Rhinezinc.
The entrance is flanked by an axial wall of poured-in-place concrete, which continues indoors to become the north-south circulation spine of the house; carved alcoves along its length house the couple's unique ceramics collection.
The entrance court doubles as a terrace for a double-height dining room paneled in mahogany.
The first volume, which contains the living room and the husband's study to the north, shares another paved court extending out to the garden, and the kitchen and family room in the southern volume open onto a separate garden and pool.
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A contemporary Palo Alto Residence that offers a unique outlook on California living.”
Architectural Digest
At the upper level, the master suite and wife's study are linked across a glass bridge to the child and guest bedrooms. A floor-to-ceiling window wall adjacent to the glass bridges and stairway brings light into the finished basement.