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The Baboolal Residence                         

All Photos by Tzu Chen Photography ©

"...At every turn...she prioritized the qualities of light, views, and building performance over superficial, budget-busting bling." ~ Claire Conroy, editor, Residential Design magazine

The Baboolal residence is for a lovely family.  They had previously lived in a development and been frustrated by illogical and wasted spaces, so decided to build their own custom home.  

 

Our driving concept for the Baboolal residence was the Japanese principle of "Shakkei" -- borrowed landscape or scenery.  The north side of their property is adjacent to a gorgeous grassy meadow which is part of a neighbor's property.  This north side is the dominant view from the Baboolal residence, so we are "borrowing" this view.   Borrowing the landscape is not just a Japanese design principle, but also one used prominently in British landscape design since the 1700's.

 

For this project, the owners' view is protected as the field will never be built upon --  the meadow is actually the very large septic field for the neighbor's large estate.  It's also a butterfly and bee haven in the summer and provides a beautiful and serene view year round.  It is also one of the more private parts of the site because there are no houses visible from that side of the house, except in the far distance.  

Our design encompasses a progression: one enters the house from the the south, which in turn opens up into the main living space looking out into the beautiful borrowed landscape view to the north.  We made the entire north wall of the living and dining room operable glass doors (built to passive house standards for energy efficiency) to create a powerful indoor-outdoor connection.  

Other special custom features include a nursery for the kids that they can each access from their respective bedrooms; a spa like main bathroom for the parents; a gourmet kitchen including a swanky little bar; a quiet zone for the parents suite; a private study for listening to old vinyl jazz records and more.

The Baboolal residence was built by NewPhire Building.  

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