Upper Happy Valley | John Lum Architecture

This project reflects the clients’ casual, family-focused lifestyle and can be viewed as a conjoining of their lives. An extensive remodel of their mid-century ranch is reflective of the wife’s Japanese heritage, and dance aesthetic. Additions to the house are clad in customized shou-sugi-ban, an ancient charred-wood siding, historically used in Japan to naturally protect wood from fire and insects. The use of this material provides a cultural connection, adding weight, and a visual dynamic to this otherwise banal California rancher. The floor plan was shifted to create expansive living areas pocketed with discreet moments of overlapping visual mystery in this otherwise light-filled house. Free-form screens add a dynamic quality to the façade, a nod to the wife’s career as a dancer.