Designed by Terry & Terry Architecture for a family with hearing impairment, this home in California incorporates “Deaf-Space” in the architecture to provide ample transparency throughout the abode, where vision and touch are a primary means of spatial awareness and orientation.
The original property was a 1950’s Joseph Eichler home. To give this home a contemporary transformation, the designer used a similar material palette and utilised the primary floor plan to change the existing space by folding out the horizontal and vertical planes of the first story to form the second story. The new roof creates a large central area and houses a second-floor bedroom wing. Elevating and shifting parts of the structure are used to support the second story and stairways.
On the ground floor is the main living space, which opens out to the landscape, creating an expansive ambience. Two bedrooms and offices are reconfigured to be more transparent to the garden. On the second floor, the space accommodates an extended family with two bedrooms, bathrooms, and sleeping porches.
Photovoltaic panels, solar water heating, and rain catchment systems reduce energy consumption and water loads in this home, while large overhangs provide shade during summer.
