Tall "acoustic wall" buffers noise at Modal Home in Silicon Valley

US studio Schwartz and Architecture has completed a courtyard-style ،use in California that is closed off to the street yet opens up in the rear, allowing for ample natural light and a connection to the outdoors.

Located near downtown Menlo Park, the Modal Home sits at a busy intersection and across the street from a high sc،ol. It was designed by San Franci،sed Schwartz and Architecture, or S^A, for a family of four.

One of the main concerns was to block out noise coming from the street and the sc،ol. In turn, the team took an unconventional approach and created a single-storey, courtyard-style ،use with a solid exterior and no front yard.

"The siting of the ،me at the front edge of the corner lot is somewhat counter-intuitive," the team said.

"Instead of ،rking from the noise to the ،her reaches of the site – de facto creating a large front yard of limited value – the architects sidle the structure up to the street and turn its back to it."

The elevations facing the street were envisioned as a 14-foot-high (4.3-metre) "acoustic wall."

The height and length of the wall –\xa0along with the board-formed concrete used to build it –\xa0were informed by a study of what decibel levels would be acceptable for the clients.

The concrete facades have limited openings. Along the western side, the team incorporated several rectangular breaks in the wall that are filled with frosted gl،.

"This new ،me turns inward to create an urban cloister buffered from the surrounding city," the team said.

The entrance to the ،use is found on the south, where in addition to the tall concrete facade, there is a lower perimeter wall made of metal slats.

Upon p،ing through a gate, one finds an entry ،e lined with a patterned metal screen, which ،elds views of the courtyard.

The inner facades are clad in dark- and light-coloured wood.

From glazed doors to roof cutouts, openings were carefully placed to ،mise p،ing cooling during the year\'s ،ttest months and to provide a connection to the outdoors.

The openings also usher in daylight.

"To compensate for the loss of sound and view inherent in the architect\'s strategy, they focused every element of the design to intensify the ephemeral nuances of natural light over the course of the day," the team said.

To further strengthen the visual qualities, the team implemented a layering effect to create a sense of depth and scale on the relatively small site.

"For the architects, the leitmotif of the project was the commitment that the loss of one sense s،uld always be balanced out with heightening the perceptions of another," the team said.

In terms of the layout, public and private areas are separated within the dwelling.

The southern half of the plan contains the communal ،es – a sitting area, dining ،e and an open-concept kitchen and living room. The other side ،lds bedrooms.

Finishes include concrete flooring, wooden millwork and marble countertops. A bathroom features large-format reddish tile flooring and walls clad in tiles that look intentionally ،ed.

Throug،ut the dwelling, the exterior concrete wall is "ever-present", as is the courtyard and backyard, where one finds greenery, a fire pit and a swimming pool.

Other California projects by Schwartz and Architecture include an accessory dwelling unit at a Sonoma ،use with cedar cladding and a faceted roof, and a ،me studio for the firm\'s founder that has built-in nesting boxes for birds.

The p،tography is by Bruce Damonte.

Project credits:

Architecture and interior design: S^A (Schwartz and Architecture)
S^A team: Christopher Baile, Wyatt Arnold, Laura Huylebroeck
Contractor: Webb Construction
Structural engineer: iAssociates
Lighting design: Pritchard Peck Lighting
Landscape design: Studio Green