Hillside house is right for the site - Sue and Tom Jaksha's home in Fresno, California - 'Sunset'-American Institute of Architects Western Home Awards

Sunset, Nov, 1991

TWO MORE AWARD-winning houses from last month's Sunset-AIA Western Home Awards program grace these five pages. Each reflects the architect's response to the place, to his clients' needs, and to the general design esthetic of the region. The resulting designs are quite different, but each house seems the right one for its site.

First we present a horizontal house with pronounced angular lines. Below its location, California's San Joaquin Valley unfolds like broad, rolling prairie. The house sits low on the site and wraps around the hill; as you approach, its distinctive angles and jutting profile emerges. Several of our jurors attributed its looks to the Prairie School pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright, but they felt that it improves on and extends that style.

Angled walls in the living room of the 2,500-square-foot house allow views that extend from the southeast (toward the city) around to the west (toward the sunset). For maximum solar access, the living room area faces due south; for visual and acoustical privacy and energy efficiency, only a few windows face north (the street side).

The main open space comprises an upper-level kitchen and dining area, and a lower-level living room. An exposed-aggregate floor runs through the upper level. In the living room, side walls spread wide to the view and a covered deck beyond. A dramatic roof extends over the deck; a 4-foot-wide opening bisects the "prow" of the roof and becomes a skylight above the living room.

In spite of a tight budget, which limited the building costs to just over $50 per square foot, the house displays distinctive details. Its siding, cedar corral lumber, runs horizontally, with diagonally cut 2-by-2s masking the seams. A similar detail hides the seams on the red rolled roofing. Ready-made sliding glass door replacement panels become the full-size windows on the south-facing walls.