Photography: Bruce Damonte
Architect: Terry & Terry Architecture

Awards:
2015 AIA San Francisco Design Awards
2014 AIA San Mateo County Design Award
2013 AIA California Residential Design Award
2013 Spark Design Awards
2012 Residential Architect Design Awards
2012 AIA East Bay

This is a monochromatic image depicting the exterior of the existing structure located on the northeast side of the house.

This photograph captures the interior design of the carport, drawing attention to the main roof plane that extends forward to form the carport roof.

This photograph captures the outdoor deck located in the rear garden area, featuring the cantilevered bench that echoes the concrete wall material in the main space.

This photograph presents a captivating full view of the outdoor deck located in the rear garden area, which functions as a natural extension of the indoor living space. The image highlights the deck's beautiful wooden flooring. — This photograph presents a captivating full view of the outdoor deck located in the rear garden area, which functions as a natural extension of the indoor living space. The image highlights the deck’s beautiful wooden flooring.

An image featuring the newly added bedroom wing and the living space, both of which gain a private view of the outdoor environment through their expansive sliding glass doors.

An image taken from the exterior of the living area during the nighttime exhibits the interior design of the space, with a partial glimpse of the bedroom's interior visible. — An image taken from the exterior of the living area during the nighttime exhibits the interior design of the space, with a partial glimpse of the bedroom’s interior visible.

This interior photograph showcases the glass-clad fissure that separates the two floating volumes in the Bal House, and the warm hardwood floors and ceiling.

This interior photograph from an alternate perspective offers a comprehensive view of the glass-covered crevice, allowing for a clear visualization of the exterior bedroom wing's wooden wall plane design. — This interior photograph from an alternate perspective offers a comprehensive view of the glass-covered crevice, allowing for a clear visualization of the exterior bedroom wing’s wooden wall plane design.

An interior view of the kitchen area that highlights the central built-in island table and some other features.

This photograph captures a distinct perspective of the kitchen area, showcasing the blue color theme of the cabinets.

This image showcases a large glass window that is prominently positioned alongside a street.

This image offers a glimpse of the bathroom's interior design, which is consistent with the overall theme of the house. It prominently features a single-basin sink and the shower area. — This image offers a glimpse of the bathroom’s interior design, which is consistent with the overall theme of the house. It prominently features a single-basin sink and the shower area.

The Bal House's floor plan. — The Bal House’s floor plan.

This project consists of a single-story addition and renovation to an existing mid- century ranch house in Menlo Park, California. Conceived for a retired couple, the open and accessible design integrates the living space with the rear garden to create a well-lit domestic extension. Comprised of two floating volumes, the addition formally designates the bedroom to the west and the main (common) space to the east. The two wings gradually diverge from the original structure to generate a glass-clad fissure in between. This void space pulls the garden inwards, injecting elements of the outdoors into the core of the house.

The first is the bedroom wing/ volume, which is located on the west side of the house. The existing bedroom volume was extended toward the rear in the form of a wood tube to accommodate an additional bedroom. This bedroom volume opens out to the garden.

The second volume, which comprises the main space, houses the kitchen, dining and media areas. The east wood wall plane of the main space folds onto two concrete walls to form the main roof plane. The main space produces large transparent openings or voids that open out onto a deck at the rear garden. The main roof plane extends forward to form the carport roof near the front of the property. A garden concrete wall stretches out from the media room toward the garden adjacent to a rear ramp and forms part of the cantilevered bench that echoes the concrete wall material in the main space.

The original structure, which houses the music room, two bedrooms and a bathroom, was retained and renovated. A new steel bay window seat was inserted at the front bedroom to replace a small existing window. The front entry porch was extended and rebuilt with hardwood decking connecting to the new driveway. The fireplace chimney was reconstructed and, along with the carport storage volume, was skinned with recycled epdm rubber. A new hallway/ passage and wood skinned storage wall were designed into the core of the structure to engage and connect the materiality of the new addition with the existing structure.