House in North Oakland

The single-family house designed by Baran Studio in California combines elements of a traditional home and colors and materials that recall an industrial aesthetic.

Baran Studio’s project was to design a single-family home on an empty lot in a residential district of North Oakland, California.

The form integrates this home into a more formally and stylistically traditional neighborhood, while contemporary design elements and materials keep it modern.

Elements like the pitched roof and hung windows make the connection to a traditional home, but such elements are abstracted – the roof becomes a skin that is wrapped around the exterior, and the wrap curls up into the entry area, like a breaking wave.

The color and material expression on the exterior recall an industrial aesthetic, which further links it to the industrial areas of the nearby context, while the wood maintains the warm residential feel. Elements are carried through from outside to inside to maintain connections throughout the project as a singular experience.