Some buildings just don’t jibe with their surroundings.
Like many San Francisco homes, the Potrero Hill home that eventually became the Flip House poorly integrated its many levels with each other and failed to do justice to its sloping topography. The floor plan felt enclosed despite its size. Not only that, but a bedroom blocked the unbelievable city view and there was only one miniscule deck (hardly enough for even the most modest of grills).
The challenge was redesigning this disjointed home with a new modern aesthetic, but doing so without completely tearing down the existing envelope. Light was the driving motivation for the project, which was designed by Fougeron Architecture. In order for the interior’s potential to be maximized, its exposure to the outside had to be completely reconsidered. This meant recasting the solar orientation of the home and reconnecting it to its striking landscape.
The new primary facade has faceted, custom-built glass walls divided into three vertical panels made of hollow structural sections (HSS). These sections push in and out, creating a dynamic prism, exploiting and animating natural light as well as the spectacular views.
You can read more about how steel flipped this home for the better in our August issue's What’s Cool in Steel section, which features cool structural steel stuff from around the globe.