1234 Howard Street No. 5
San Francisco, CA
An urban house is a refuge from the world outside, a place of serenity and remove. #5 is a penthouse in a transitional SOMA neighborhood, detached from the traffic of the street below. It is entered via a courtyard walled on all four sides by glass, entirely open to the sky. A glass bridge is the foyer, linking the two bars of the residence. The east bar (sunrise) contains the daytime and living activities, and is black. The west bar (sunset) contains the nighttime and sleeping activities, and is white. The black bar begins with the library on the north end which opens onto the courtyard. The library is defined by pairs of stacks which float in the bar, a storage area, and then a powder room. The kitchen follows, with back granite floating islands which lead to the dining table. The living area, at the southern end, has a double L couch forming two seating spaces, one more intimate, the other larger. The living area has a panorama from the towers of downtown in the east, to Sutro tower and Twin Peaks, framed through the windows of the bedroom, in the west. The white bar begins in the north with a guest suite connected to the courtyard, comprising a bedroom and floating bathroom. It can be entered directly from the courtyard. The master suite follows with the master bath, which is a spa, bathed in light. It is made entirely of monolithic white corian, and glass. A central skylight traces the tub area below, on one side glass encloses the shower and toilet, on the other the sinks cantilever off a mirror wall. Behind is the laundry. The dressing room/closet floats in the bar and connects to the bedroom on the southern end via a glass screen. The bedroom has glass walls on all four sides. On the southern end is an outdoor terrace which acts a bridge between the living room and master bedroom. This terrace exposes the street and city directly, unlike the other experiences from the interior which are always mediated by frames and layers.