Henry Hill Residence

Our firm tackled the full renovation of the personal residence of Mid-century modernist Henry Hill, a star-architect of the post-war period. English-born and Harvard trained, he was one of the trendsetters of California Modernism in the Bay Area. In an effort to preserve the architectural integrity of this local landmark, while also attending to the new owners' current needs, we embarked on the design and structural diagnostics of this highly charged project so as to implement informed interventions. Through this close investigation, we understood the various changes that Henry Hill himself carried out resulting in a layered complex built over time. Together with the necessary material and code upgrades to bring the building to current performance standards, we inserted new program elements and reorganized the circulation to maximize the existing functional potential. In retaining the exact building envelope, our work improved the interior environment with material finishes and carefully considered lighting so as to extend its life-cycle.