A+C Festival '22 Home Tour: "Above the Dune" Surf House (VIP Tickets)

IN-PERSON | For additional details visit https://www.archandcity.org/2022-home-tours

VIP (Talk + Tour) | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Student: $30; AIA Member: $75; General: $90

Limited VIP tickets available; includes light snacks

Important note: please read Festival Home Tours Rules before purchasing ticket; program is subject to change or cancelled based on COVD-19 directives. Event registration is refundable minus processing fees up until 48 hours before an event. Credit or refunds are available if an event is rescheduled. No refunds or credit will be offered after an event has passed.

About the Home

Levy Art & Architecture transformed this Marina-style house into a laidback lookout on Ocean Beach. Stretching above the sand dune, the expanded third-floor living space and roof deck afforded a surf-focused homeowner and his family the ultimate lookout.

The architects worked from top to bottom and revealed vertical spaces that make the house feel and live much larger than its 2350 sq ft footprint. They set the entry on the split level, up from the street, to resist sand and wind and to heighten that experience even more. Ascending that half a flight on a wide stair, you’re drawn through the middle level on a cable suspended stair to the top, the lookout. Here the architects added minimally, 150 square feet, almost all glass, and a new deck directly in front for the best vantage up and down the beach.

The new living space is under a 10-foot ceiling with natural light from 4 sides via clerestories. They define the rooms and even the light-reducing ocean glare. A small sitting area and the kitchen at the back are cozy, under the original ceilings. Finally, we suspended a deck off the back wall to support a ladder to the roof to service the solar panels and to get a bigger view, and make a better call on the waves.

The interiors (by Melissa Todd and Frances Weiss) are beach-y but contemporary. The architects added an organic and textural layer of materials including warm-toned wood and a mix of Cle, Fireclay, and Heath tiles in earth and watercolors to ground the space in its natural environment. The effect is restrained yet welcoming, simultaneously curated and laid back.

About the Architecture + the City Festival (September 12-23)

Presented by the American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter (AIASF) in collaboration with the Center for Architecture + Design, the 19th Annual Architecture + the City Festival continues to offer behind-the-scenes programs, walking tours, literature, live presentations and more that provide an excellent opportunity for all communities to experience architecture and design in a myriad of ways throughout the city. Every September, the festival reveals the many facets and layers of San Francisco, and how ­architecture and design play a key role in this ever-changing urban landscape.

For more info visit https://www.archandcity.org/2022-home-tours