Tiburon Bay House

On the crest of a slope on the Tiburon Peninsula’s north side, Butler Armsden recycled 100% of an older, run-down house to form the roots from which to grow a new home. Anchored by a central stair, the high-performing LEED building softly emerges out of its site and into the surrounding landscape. Looking for a solution to the problem of entering a house on a steep site, the design team literally bridged the gap between the sloped terrain and the interior of the house — resulting in a suspended outdoor room that gracefully connects the inside and outside, through to the north bay and Richmond Bridge beyond. And while the house’s organic concept shines in spaces like this one, it also makes an appearance in subtler moments, like the strip of windows over the kitchen sink that blends the lines of the countertop and the horizon into one, or the concrete retaining walls recycled from the foundation of the original home.