PROJECT TYPE
Housing
LOCATION
Berkeley, California
PROJECT STATUS
Open
PEOPLE
Jia Yi Gu, Maxi Spina
UNITS
Two Stories
A home organized around the connection between kitchen and garden. The plan expands outward from the earth to the hearth, with each room opening toward the next. The garden connects to the kitchen island, a long table that supports prepping, cooking, and dining. From kitchen to a dining space, adjacent to the family room, so daily routines overlap instead of dividing the house. The dining becomes the anchoring space of the home, a generous site for meals, art sessions, reading, and homework.
The bathroom is wrapped in tile. Floor, walls, and tub surround share a single palette, so the room reads as one continuous surface rather than a set of fixtures. Details such as a recessed niche, a tiled bench, and a rounded corner are cut into the surface, so storage and seating become part of the wall.
At the back of the garden, the existing garage is adapted into a guest unit. The unit extends the sequence from hearth to earth, and it sits at the garden’s edge with its own entry, so guests can stay close to the household while keeping some independence.
