Shear Creek

los gatos, california + 3,222 square feet
architect | fuse architects inc.
contractor | Les McClain
details | standing seam metal, channel-glass, yellow cedar, stainless steel

We were hired to modify a 1,700 square foot, two-story box-like house to provide more space for our client’s family. They wanted to bring in more light and create a renewed sense of character for the home. The idea was to create a distinct feeling of transition upon entry into the existing reversed floor plan design. We designed a seamless intermarriage of the addition and the existing building, while keeping the overarching forms of the older structure intact. The idea was to integrate the new aspects of the design with the existing by running the roofing material down the face of the existing upper floor and tying it into the lower floor through the use of horizontal yellow cedar. To blow out the existing interior dark and confined space, we opened up the south facing walls to bring in natural light and take advantage of the spectacular view of the Santa Cruz mountains. The space was transformed into the embodiment of lightness and spaciousness.