Accommodating the Outdoors – Twin Gable House by Ryan Leidner Architecture

Ryan Leidner Architecture has thoughtfully renovated a midcentury Eichler house into a modern home that is intrinsically connected to its surrounding landscape. Incorporating lush greenery into the interior spaces and imbued with a tangible sense of transparency, Twin Gable House proposes a more outward, open way of living.

Located in Sunnyvale, a suburban neighbourhood 45 minutes south of San Francisco, Twin Gable House sits within a streetscape dominated by single-level Eichler family homes. The renovation aspired to rejuvenate the midcentury, modern-style residence by injecting high design into its somewhat simple, suburban façade. Whilst most Eichler homes boast flat ceilings, this house benefited from having a twin-gable shape that brings height and openness, setting the tone for the design and direction of the renovation.

The residence is enveloped in a lush garden, incorporating the landscape into every interior space.

There is an immediate sense of the outdoors existing within the home – upon entering through the front door into the atrium space, one is met with an interior garden. Rejecting the idea that homes are a place to be lived inwardly, the outdoor connection continues throughout. The residence is enveloped in a lush garden, incorporating the landscape into every interior space.

In this sense, one of the key materials of the house is the garden, with the landscape being on full display from every angle and in every room in the house. The clients wanted to feel like there was greenery constantly surrounding them, as if the house is sitting within a garden whilst feeling somewhat detached from the sidewalk. To achieve this, Stephens Design Studio used sliding plains of concrete bands that have plants surrounding them so they appear disguised within the landscape. The planting balances an overall loose informality with a sense of structure and order.

Just as the home continually welcomes the outdoors inside, light is brought in at every possibility, and the play of light means the house always feels dynamic, warm and connected to the weather.

Just as the home continually welcomes the outdoors inside, light is brought in at every possibility, and the play of light means the house always feels dynamic, warm and connected to the weather. The sun enters and shifts throughout the day as it filters through branches and bounces off white walls and white-panelled high ceilings.

Twin Gable House innovatively blurs the line between the indoors and the outdoors. The subsequent feeling of transparency means the space is dynamic yet robust, warm yet modern – providing a palpable sense of freedom and vitality to the family living there.