Situated along the scenic Californian coast between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, the landscape is dotted with old barns, which have deteriorated and been rebuilt over time. Transforming the simple roof forms of the barns, which we designed the roofs of the house into butterflies floating over the landscape.

To design a house on the Northern California coast on pristine land overlooking the Pacific Ocean is to design around the homes of the red-legged frog, Monarch butterfly, and the San Francisco garter snake. An in-depth study of the habitat and migratory patterns of these species, carved out a triangle of land which defined the building’s placement on site. The integration of a house into this delicate ecosystem necessitated that human habitation of the site could coexist with healthy and thriving native wildlife and plant species.