Intentions: The client wanted to create eight high-end condominiums that could be divided into 16 separate bedrooms based on the number participants in any given retreat.    He also wanted to expand the capacities of the facilities with time, creating two more building with 4 units each, all on a site that was long in one dimension and tight on the other.

Functional Results: The client came up with an elegant floor plan on his own, along with the idea of staggering the units so as to maximize privacy of each balcony and take advantage of the gorgeous views to the northwest.   From his initial drawings, I began to tweak the proportions to get the rooms to feel harmonious and used skylight to bring in light from the east and west while avoiding the oppressive sun of the midday.   Each unit is equipped with solar panels and solar hot water.

Aesthetic Results: The condos employ the same pocket doors of the community building, dissolving the boundaries between the indoors and the outdoors, as well as the palo de arco shading and railings.  I designed the skylights to bring in abundant natural light without overheating the unit.   In order to do so, the sky lights above the kitchen and art nook have skylights that gather light from the east and west, but not directly overhead, thus avoiding excessive solar gain while marking time with the different qualities of light of morning and afternoon.   Another skylight washes back wall of the stair well, while another long light well brings light down to the 1st floor master bathroom.   An art nook at a 45 degree angle with a skylight above delight people as they move throughout the second floor unit.