Monte Sano Mountain House

Situated on the north bluff of Monte Sano, this 1970s “California contemporary” ranch house has been revitalized. The design called for bridging over the sloping driveway with a suspended ICF slab supporting a suite of conventionally framed bedrooms, bath, small gathering room, and a partially covered rear porch. This rear deck and porch extend along the north side of the addition for the bluff view, entered directly from the bedrooms and from the main part of the house. The addition is joined to the original house by a fully glazed bridge with its roof lowered both to articulate the addition and to allow cross-ventilation for the new porch. The broad overhangs and exterior shading on the front walls were designed to control the south sun. A new main porch open to the west and north was added off the living room and kitchen overlooking the bluff and including a fireplace and outdoor cabinets. The new porch and addition roofs transformed the original gables to mono-slopes and “butterfly” roofs. Two new open mono-sloped roofs provide a porte cochere and a detached secondary carport that together frame the auto entrance.