Mark R. Bavoso

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Oakland House

Commissioned Study
Oakland, California
2022

This is a commissioned study for a 2,000 square foot private residence in Oakland, California. The project is located in the hills above the Rockridge neighborhood, which have been historically subject to frequent wildfire. Most notable in recent history was the Oakland Firestorm of 1991, a conflagration which destroyed 2,843 homes, including the former structure on this property and my parents’ house nearby. The client’s goal was to integrate a one-bedroom house in the form of a tower and a ground level in-law unit with this ecological and cultural firescape. We referenced historical water towers in the San Francisco Bay Area, and looked to forest service fire watch towers from the Sierra Nevada foothills and beyond for inspiration.

Houses are frequently built in the Oakland hills to maximize downhill, west-facing panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay. Even though buildings are increasingly difficult and expensive to insure in California along the urban-wildland interface, homes are still infrequently constructed with wildfire as a design concern. Balancing the risk of fire with the desire for views, the diagram of the house combines two main elements: a lightweight wood framed tower from which to look out, and fire-resistant earthcrete base within which to retreat into.

The layout and dimensions of the primary unit of the house are designed to maximize its height, within strict applicable zoning regulations, in order to maximize views, and to produce a tower-like appearance that echoes the proportions of historical reference buildings. Meanwhile, the ground floor unit, which also supports a parking turnaround for the client’s travel van, embraces a private courtyard. In the courtyard, between the two living spaces, grows a single lemon tree. As the tree grows over the years, it begins to fill the courtyard and the views from the primary residence, redirecting the visual focus of the house from far-away spectacle towards the quotidian beauty of domestic living, those small territories of protected and productive interior control sheltered from what Mike Davis refers to as the California landscape’s “decisive quotient of surprise.”