Client: Stewart and Colette Fahmy
Project Type: private residence
Program: 4,800 gross sq. ft.; 1,800 sq. ft. finished cellar.
Project Schedule: Design: 2007-11, construction: 2014
Project Team: Preston Scott Cohen (Design); Gilles Quintal (Project Architect); Matthew Allen (project assistant); David Saladik (project assistant); Matt Storus (project assistant)

The Fahmy House is designed for a site that is so exceedingly steep and populated by native oak trees as to be almost impossible to build on. The primary goal of the project is to minimize the environmental impact of new construction while providing accessible and integrated interior and exterior spaces. Designed in accordance with the Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines for the town of Los Gatos, California, the design preserves the existing natural setting to the greatest extent possible. The massing of the house and its earthen materials, hues and tones are compatible with the surrounding landscape. From the street, visitors will see from the top of the hill, the roof line sloping parallel to the topography. The house shifts from level to level as it descends the hill. Oriented to mutually protect the house and its neighbors from intrusive interior night lighting, the house affords optimal views and privacy for its occupants and neighbors alike.