For this single family residence, the initial response to the town law was a more provocative response through the manipulation of its constraints. Traditional site strategies typically found in this area were to ignore the slope of the site and raise the house on a plinth. However, we chose to take advantage of the natural terrain, which dictated the form of the plan.
The manipulation of the house reflects how built mass is emerging out of the ground; the roof and the footprint take on a more organic, shifted surface that directly relates to the natural terrain.

By not raising the house on a plinth but lowering it half way between the street and the highest point of the site, the house creates a very public face for the living space, in contrast to a private, sunken garden in the rear of the site. As a result of this shift in the site, interior spaces begin to overlap with one another to react to the exterior as well as with each other.

This shift is articulated on the facade through a continuous base that is informed by the surrounding topography as well as the internal program. The roof-line, in contrast, is kept minimal to articulate the massing of the house.