311 Grove

Located in the heart of Hayes Valley, 311 Grove is a boutique residential building that both engages with the historic district on multiple fronts and provides a protected semi-urban space within, in the form of an interior courtyard that provides refuge in an otherwise bustling environment. Given the size constraints and through-block nature of the parcel, Edmonds + Lee developed a scheme in which the building has two main masses with facades on Grove and Ivy Streets, with an internal courtyard carved out in the center to allow light to flood all the interior spaces. The courtyard serves as common outdoor space, as well as housing an open stair that serves as a major part of the main circulation system. That stair brings a vibrancy and liveliness to the courtyard, integrating it with the natural rhythm of life in the building. The two main bodies of the building, each facing a different street, house two roof decks: one public and one private. Each side takes into consideration the scale of its street: one sits lower than the other, reaching four stories on Ivy Street and five on Grove Street. The public roof deck is housed on the shorter of the two, leaving the highest point on the building for the private deck, where views overlook the busy streets spread out below.