NABESHIMA KAHLE HOUSE

Summary
This house was designed and built in the tradition of California regionalism with flowing indoor/outdoor spaces, exposed materials, and expressive detailing.  The site for the Nabeshima/Kahle house, in the area destroyed by the Oakland firestorm, was especially challenging because of its small and triangular lot shape, its position in a tightly hemmed cul de sac, and its proximity to the Hayward Fault. 

The house responds to these constraints by nestling into the large corner of the triangular lot and opening to the east with a two-story glass wall.  The transparent wall incorporates vertical lift doors at the large living area and barn doors at each bedroom to create direct connections with the garden from every main interior space.  These fluid connections and the 26-foot high ceilings make the 1,600 square-foot house feel much larger than it actually is. 

Details
As with all our work, a strong commitment to the environment was carried throughout the design and construction of this project.  Every opportunity was taken to incorporate elements from the site into the architecture, such as a stone step for the bathtub and columns carved from trees killed by the fire. Radiant floor heating, recycled cellulose insulation and thermal mass are combined to create a very comfortable and energy efficient living space.  Built before FSC certified sustainably harvested wood was available, recycled wood was used where possible.  Only smaller dimensional lumber and engineered wood beams were chosen in order to reduce demand for old growth trees.  The concrete form boards were reused as many as four times for successive concrete pours before being sanded and reused as the finished ceiling in the main living space.  Rainwater from the roof is collected in a cistern through a sculptural catch basin and reused for irrigation.  Native and drought resistant plants dominate the landscaping.

Construction by Wanaselja Construction.
Photographs by Linda Svendsen and Leger Wanaselja Architecture.