Four Houses Four Stories - Flipbook - Page 13
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Daylight and
artifical light
co-mingle in
the entry foyer.
K
M
N
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ND FLOOR PLAN
Open to Below
Skyramp
Roof Deck
Elevator
Stairs Down
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Walk-in Closet
Laundry Room
Bridge/Reading Area
Craft/Game Room
Exercise Room
Half Bath
Gallery
Children’s Bed/Bathrooms
Northeast Daylight
Southwest Daylight
L
B
C
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E
O
Of course modern architecture is
partly about openness and painting
rooms with light—natural daylight as well
as artificial illumination from fixtures. Was
there some new way of
introducing everyday light
into the rooms and expose
some of the interior light to
the exterior with intrigue and
a sense of magic? Typically,
daylight fills rooms through windows, skylights or open doors.
Light just comes in and broadly
illuminates the inner space or if it’s
from a fixture it shines on a shade,
wall or floor. But Sacramento is flat
and the daylight here is flat. Nothing
special—normal. There were a few options
rarely used that could be dramatic. Illuminate
the ceiling with a sharp glaze of light—make the
ceiling become the sky. Two methods were creatively employed:
raise the exterior windows to meet the very edge of the ceiling
and design a new type of low profile reflector that could evenly
distribute light from Circline fluorescent lamps across the ceiling.
These techniques are rarely used as the slightest imperfection
in the ceiling is highlighted and exposed—this excludes basic
construction craftsmanship and materials. The kitchen ceiling is
illuminated by a custom “D”-shaped arc suspended from a metal
frame that shields upward facing xenon lamps and down facing
12 volt halogen task flood lighting. But the most dramatic effects
are the up-lighted sculpted small trees in the front courtyard.
Directly opposite the mirrored glass courtyard wall, the trees
are illuminated with higher light levels to reflect in the mirrored
wall while not exposing the interior of the living room to the exterior. All of the copper sunscreens are flooded from below to
cast warm reflective light down and eliminate hot spots from the
lamps themselves. The most intriguing idea is the perforation of
the large curved masonry front entry foyer wall. With no front
“window” to the outside, the front yard view is through 2" tall by
12"–24" wide glass “slit windows” randomly located within the
courses of the masonry. These “windows’ will allow beams of light
out at night and refracted rays of light inward with daylight. Not
flashy and not trendy—light “emerges” from the landscape inward
and from the home outward.
5
DESIGN
SOLUTION
