Dolores Heights Residence

As part of ELA’s longstanding commitment to creating new avenues for residential density in San Francisco, the firm designed this home to take advantage of an overlooked site by removing a dilapidated, non-conforming structure and replacing it with a new, 4-story, single-family home and Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). As one first approaches the home from the street they are greeted with a carefully articulated façade wrapped in Belgian-inspired textured brick. Additional features such as a wraparound exterior deck, generous glazing, and abundant views of downtown San Francisco connect the upper three floors (which are reserved for the owners) to the broader urban context. The ground floor by contrast, is dedicated to the ADU and opens up to the intimate garden setting of the rear yard and mid-block open space. On the inside, rich materiality brings life and softness to the exterior architecture’s clean lines. The house operates both on the intimate scale of the occupant and the global scale of the city as its site, design, and urban location address and grapple with issues like the value of ADU’s, the tremendous potential of infill lots, and the importance of thoughtfully-created housing.