Green House

The original home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s protégé, Aaron Green and built by Echler Homes in 1966, is a modern masterwork in Palo Alto, California. Remaining preserved in time by its original owner until 2019, its new owners, a young couple with two young children and one on the way, needed additional space and amenities. But how to update and extend Green’s low-slung complete thought for a new era and new growing family? During the design process, we liked to ask ourselves:” What would Mr. Green do today? “ The house is tucked back on a flag lot surrounded on all sides by more traditional suburban homes. The challenge was to add a substantial amount of space in the least disruptive way. The garden side’s iconic glass wall was sacrosanct; the new programs of a prime bedroom suite, ADU, and accessory office tuck discreetly into less visible areas of the site. Taking inspiration from the home’s existing concrete block walls, our addition peeks out behind a new board-formed concrete wall- referential but clearly new; deferential but, with hope, distinctive. Since the existing carport was too low for many modern family cars, we converted that area into a sunken family room, consistent with the mid-century vibe but new to the home. We headed off the existing roof beams mid-span, adding a rear addition under a new upward-sloped roof that opens up the smaller, previously dark, bedrooms. The new ceiling continues the rhythm of the existing structure, with hidden lighting fixtures where the original beams once ran.