the houses issue

WILD for WALLPAPErSeven bold graphic styles P. 82

thE LAtEst In tILEsStunning surface options P. 90

A LuxE stAy In torontoThe new Four Seasons flagship P. 96

Can ⁄ US $7.95jan ⁄ feb 2013

PM40048073 R09064SUrfaCeS that bring in the light p. 105 hitS from london’S biggeSt deSign feStival p. 84+

hoMeS ThaT elevaTe ModeRn living To an aRT FoRM

5 see our

newwebsite!

Property issueProperty issue of Azure PublishingelevaPublishingelevaM

PublishingM

64 JAN ⁄ FEB 2013

The three-storey house is clad in Ramp Armor, a paper-based phenolic resin panel used in skateboarding ramp construction. SFOSL installed a catwalk for access to the new top floor from the back garden.

artists fear the blank canvas. Writers dread the empty page. So it comes as no surprise that architects often consider a carte blanche commission, coupled with unlimited resources, an anxiety- inducing, head- spinning proposition. Sometimes, the best assignments come with restrictive parameters – budget, zoning, an existing structure – established at the outset. Indeed, if you’re Casper Mork-Ulnes and Andreas Tingulstad of SFOSL, working on a tricky renovation in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighbourhood, you might even find that these limitations yield brilliant solutions you would otherwise have overlooked.

“Twentieth Street is a great example of a project where we managed to play within the constraints,” says Tingulstad of the residential remodel in question, which began with a British software salesman looking to expand his two-storey home (the ground floor was entirely garage). The two principals – who have collaborated since 2008 and took the name SFOSL in 2012 – char-acterized the house as a bachelor pad: cramped, old and poorly laid out. “The place hadn’t been touched in 40 years, and even the client, Mike, would tell you it was pretty much a disaster,” says Mork-Ulnes.

Two main obstacles to revitalization emerged. The first was the city’s planning department, whose residential design guidelines for Potrero Hill mandated that the facade be preserved. Although the building was not historically listed, the city permit office stipulated that because this was one of eight uniform houses on the street, all built by one developer in the ’20s, the design had to fit within the existing block fabric.

The best solution was to build upward. Following zoning restrictions that forced a setback of the third floor, to maintain the streetscape’s visual height, the architects managed to increase the floor space from 150 to 210 square metres. This move also led them to relocate the house’s public functions – kitchen, living, dining – to a single space on the top floor. What had been a dining room and kitchen on the second floor became a fourth bedroom and a master ensuite bathroom.

An engineered steel catwalk installed off the rear of the new third floor facilitated access to the back garden. This satisfied the primary objective of two important stakeholders: Mike’s dogs, Merv and Roxy, who have heartily welcomed additional access to the terraced green space that was transformed by local garden guru Flora Grubb.

The second big challenge was the tight budget. “While $170 per square foot is easy to achieve in other places, it sure isn’t in San  Francisco,” says Mork-Ulnes (the firm has twin headquarters, in

House Profile

Location: san francisco

originaL buiLding size: 150 square metres

current buiLding size: 210 square metres

Lot size: 93 square metres

structuraL materiaLs: ramp armor cladding, oriented strand board flooring

SFOSL takes on San Francisco’s tight building restrictions and adds an entire floor to a 1920s row houseBy AndRew BRAiThwAiTePhOTOgRAPhy By BRuce dAmOnTe

ramping it up

Property working on a tricky renovation in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill

Property working on a tricky renovation in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighbourhood, you might even find that these limitations yield Property neighbourhood, you might even find that these limitations yield brilliant solutions you would otherwise have overlooked.Property brilliant solutions you would otherwise have overlooked.

“Twentieth Street is a great example of a project where we Property

“Twentieth Street is a great example of a project where we of neighbourhood, you might even find that these limitations yield of neighbourhood, you might even find that these limitations yield Azure Azure Publishing

Project:

20th Street reSidencefirm: SfoSL,San franciSco

JAN ⁄ FEB 2013 65

Property of Azure PublishingPublishing

66 JAN�⁄�FEB 2013 AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

San Francisco and Oslo). Fortunately, the client brought his own interest in low-cost materials to the process. The house is clad in Ramp Armor Deluxe, a paper-based phenolic resin panel used in skateboarding ramp construction. The new fl oors are oriented strand board plywood fi nished with a heavy-duty urethane coating by Top Secret that withstands scratchy dog paws. The staircase connecting the two fl oors features the rough texture of parallel strand lumber beams laminated in place.

These material choices helped to keep the budget down, while giving the interior and exterior spaces a feeling of honesty and freshness. Even the original Douglas fi r ceiling beams, which were not substantial enough to be retained as fl oor beams, were repurposed by a local furniture maker into a dining table and a custom shelving unit.

Nowhere is the ingenuity driven by regulation and budget better illus-trated than with the sunshade that shields the third fl oor’s south- facing glass wall. Large panels, also made from Ramp Armor Deluxe, are mounted atop a custom-built, crank-operated bifold lift. The shade is deployed to control light and ventilation, eliminating the need for air conditioning; in a nod to the planning department, it is perforated in a pattern that replicates the historical block’s geometry. “The planning department told us they really liked that touch,” says Mork-Ulnes

The client worked overtime with project manager Greg Ladigin to hand-drill the sunshade’s 21,756 holes, using a simple paper stencil as a guide. After the project’s completion, Mike – now married to Kathryn, who moved in to complete the property’s transformation from bachelor pad to family homestead – gave Ladigin a suitable wedding gift: two Makita power drills. “Everyone is pulling in the same direction,” says Tingulstad.

To maintain the continuity of the existing street facades, the new roofline is set back.

A crank-operated bifold panel opens to create an overhang above the third-floor patio.

Property of Azure Publishing

12345678910

Double-pane w

indows throughout.

Double-pane glass doors

Clear epoxy coated OSB �oor.

Existing stair resurfaced with epoxy coated O

SB.

Laminated PSL stair.

Custom sliding barn doors.

Lightwell.

Landscaped concrete planters.

Synthetic lawn patio.

Concrete patio.

LON

GITU

DIN

AL SECTIO

NN

01

24

8

↑ Perforated with 21,756 hand-drilled holes, the sunshade blocks out heat and glare in the kitchen and living areas.

↗ The central stair-case uses parallel strand lumber beams glued into place.

→ Original beams were repurposed into custom shelving and a new dining table.↙ On the second floor, the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom look out onto the terraced back garden.

THIRD FLOOR

1 Living area 2 Bifold panel 3 Dining area 4 Kitchen 5 Living area 6 Bathroom 7 Gangway

SECOND FLOOR

8 Bedroom 9 Master bedroom 10 Patio 11 Terraced landscaping

45678910111213

White epoxy coated O

SB �oor.

White epoxy coated deck �ooring.

Kitchen island.

Skylight above shown as dashed.

123

Catwalk

Double-pane w

indows throughout.

Double-pane, m

ulti-slide doors.

Laminated PSL stair.

Built-in media nook

Lightwell.

Transluscent guardrail.

Sunshade above shown as dashed.

Guardrail sided w

ith skate ramp cladding.

UPPER LEVEL FLO

OR PLA

NN

01

24

8

THIRD FLOOR

3

4 7

11

8

8

8

6

6

2 5

6

1

9

10

SECOND FLOOR

Property the master bedroom and

Property the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom look Property ensuite bathroom look out onto the terraced Property out onto the terraced back garden.

Property back garden.of

the master bedroom and

of the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom look of ensuite bathroom look out onto the terraced of out onto the terraced Azure Azure the master bedroom and

Azure the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom look Azure ensuite bathroom look out onto the terraced Azure out onto the terraced Publishing