San Francisco House Lift
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Cole Valley Architecture often comes with constraints – from the San Francisco Planning Department, and physical ones too.
Our clients purchased their home in this popular San Francisco neighborhood expecting to add a garage and off-street parking. However, adding the garage was far from straight forward. Because the height of the building was too tall to begin with, raising the home in the existing location was not an option. It would not meet the planning code.
Cole Valley Architecture – A Creative Design Strategy
We successfully developed a strategy to both lift the house and set it back further on the lot. We argued, through three-dimensional models and diagrams, that the combination of lifting and setting back the building did not negatively impact the street frontage. Also, we made the case that the new building conformed more to the planning code than the existing one.
It’s not easy to physically move a three-story home back on a lot with neighboring buildings only an inch away. This, however, was handled with expertise by our builder J Reilly Construction. The neighborhood came out to watch the event. And it was all done successfully. To see more of the process, click here.
The garage addition was part of a whole house renovation. A new three-story, rear-yard addition contains a first floor family room, an expanded kitchen at the second floor, and a master bedroom suite at the third floor.
We transformed the existing attic into a getaway space complete with a new wet bar. The space is open to a study area on the floor below and creates a loft-style effect.
We designed the building so it was possible to see from one end of the house to the other, and also from one floor to the other. We wanted to create some dramatic spaces within this hundred year old building.
New decks on the rear of the building are connected by a spiral staircase and face view of the City and landscaped rear yard.