Honor Award
Pacific Sights
Lead Landscape Architect: Vera Gates
Set in the architecturally significant neighborhood of Pacific Heights in San Francisco, this LEED Platinum residence achieves high standards of sustainability through a collaborative approach. The Landscape Architect brought in maximum LEED landscape points for rainwater harvesting, permeable site design, water efficient planting and LED lighting.
The landscape design anchors the house into the site, reinforces key design elements of the architecture, and complements the neighborhood fabric. Engaging the street with a transparent fence, the entry garden contributes to neighborhood greening in combination with new streetscape plantings.
The architects chose a dramatic angle for the back of the home to orient windows and balconies toward bay and city views, and the site design responds by aligning to the two axes. Gentle terracing links three levels of the house to the garden. Under the ground, cisterns collect 50% of the roof runoff to supply the irrigation system with 1,500 gallons of rainwater.
This project demonstrates that small sites can achieve top performance, high level design and respond to an urban context with style.
