Project Details
- Project Name
- Sonoma WeeHouse
- Location
- CA
- Project Types
- Single Family
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 970 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2016
- Awards
- 2018 AIA Small Project Awards
- Shared by
- Hanley Wood
- Project Status
- Built
2017 Residential Architect Design Awards
Custom House Less Than 3,000 Square Feet | Honorable Mention
The Sonoma WeeHouse is, in fact, not one but two houses—one main house and one guest house—on a hillside site in Santa Rosa, Calif., just north and west of the vineyard-rich region that gave it its name. These small, impeccably detailed, minimalist, weathering steel-clad boxes were designed by St. Paul, Minn.–based firm Alchemy Architects for a client that knows a thing or two about fine-detailing and minimalism: Apple’s senior design director of real estate and development, himself an architect who collaborated on the design.
The structures were designed as part of Alchemy’s WeeHouse system of modular, prefabricated houses. The 640-square-foot main structure, which features an ipe-lined interior and a 9-foot-tall sliding glass door on either side, was assembled in Oregon in two parts: a 16-foot by 40-foot module and a bolt-on porch, which were each shipped to the site largely complete. The 330-square-foot guest house, a single unit, followed suit. The steel-framed modules were then set on concrete plinths on site, ready to occupy. The porch cantilevers out over the hillside, offering views of the valley below, and it was this striking profile that caught the attention of the jury. “It’s so tiny, but quite dramatic,” David Baker said.
With such small footprints, not a single inch can be wasted. The main house features a whitewashed oak bed in the middle of the structures, with the frame forming the bedroom walls, and privacy screens pocket into the bathroom ceiling in lieu of traditional swinging doors. In the guest house, a built-in oak wardrobe serves as storage, and the wall of the bathroom. But throughout, the minimal palette is used to great effect. “I love the use of natural materials,” R. Michael Graham said.
Visit ARCHITECT to see the rest of the winners of the 2017 Residential Architect Design Awards.
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
The Sonoma residence is a small, ultra-minimal modular home. It was custom designed by the project manager and the client, Apple’s Director of Store Design, an architect himself. Composed of two open sided boxes set on concrete plinths nestled on the edge of gnarled oaks, it meets the client's specific style and finishing requirements. The primary structure (640 SF) features a whitewashed oak bed box in the middle of the volume. An open kitchen/dining/living room is on one side, and a toilet and shower on the other. For shipping logistics, this structure was designed as two modules: the 16 ft. x 40 ft. main box, and a 10 ft. x 40 ft. bolt-on porch, which cantilevers into a dramatic landscape valley rich with vineyards, parklands, and the town of Santa Rosa. The accompanying guesthouse (330 SF), also shipped essentially complete, is an abridged version of the primary structure. A large whitewashed oak wardrobe forms the bathroom wall while providing adequate storage and privacy. Both structures feature steel frames, 9 ft. tall sliding glass walls that are set into custom corrugated weathering steel boxes, and ipe interiors with oiled oak cabinetry. Pocket doors recessed into the cabinetry close against the steel columns. Privacy screens are pocketed into the bathroom ceilings, with glass walls separating the toilet and showering facilities. In the main house, there is also a 25’ long drop-down insect screen pocketed into the ceiling.
