Bradley and Byrd Residence

The house is built on a sloping hillside with spectacular views down the Carmel Valley. The owners were inspired by the clean, cubic, and cascading forms of cycladic island architecture, yet wanted a contemporary edge which would fit well with their casual, northern California life style.

The building in layered into the hillside by dividing it into three parallel, rectangular forms which step down the site with topography, functionally separating the Garage and Ceramic Studio above, the Entry and bedrooms in between, and the Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen below. With these forms in place, the plan was then generated by the path to and through them. They are approached as in the traditional Greek promenade architectural by first seeing the forms on a diagonal, encircling them, and then entering parallel to the forms either to the garage above or through the space between the upper and middle forms. At the end of the entry axis, the path turns 90-degrees, enters the interior, and continues perpendicular to the forms, connecting them together. The solid forms are then linked by a cascading glass "bridge" which mirrors their tiered organization.