Channeling Midcentury Modern in Northern California

It’s not surprising that a husband and wife who work in Silicon Valley would want to hire Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the architectural practice known for helping define Apple’s futuristic retail image, to create their home. What is unusual is that, instead of a high-tech laboratory whirring with the latest gizmos, the duo requested a tranquil abode based on a famously simple postwar Californian type.

“The design strategy for the project stemmed from a desire to make a private world isolated from the suburban density that is all around the property,” says design principal Gregory Mottola, describing the single-story Los Altos home.

He, his team, and general contractor Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders plotted the project in such a way that it would embrace the region’s mild climate and local environment. The layout snakes around an existing Japanese maple tree and a meadow of tall native grasses planted by Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture. Natural ventilation cools the home in lieu of air conditioning.  This reverence for nature extends beyond superficial appreciation: BCJ outfitted the home with dense insulation, low-flow water fixtures, and a photovoltaic array to ensure that nothing will go to waste.