Explore The 2024 Tour Homes
From extraordinary ultramodern to Cali-cool, we're showcasing Amazing Examples of Bay Area contemporary living!
TOUR THE HOMES LIVE AND IN PERSON!
The 2024 Silicon Valley Modern Home Tour
Sat, May 18 10am-4pm
image: Bruce Damonte for S^A | Schwartz and Architecture 2024 Tour Home
How It Works
01 Preview The Homes Below!
03 Watch For Your Tour Map
About 48 hours before Tour Day, watch your email for a printable PDF map and info packet, as well as links to a dynamic online map for easy navigation.
04 Visit the Homes on Tour Day
Travel at your own pace as you visit the homes in any order you wish between 10 AM and 4 PM on Tour day. Meet the architects and designers, ask questions, and get inspired by these beautiful Bay Area homes!
Tour Map*
*Map is subject to change. Watch for your final map email 48 hours before the Tour.
Explore The 2024 Tour Homes
S^A | Schwartz and Architecture
To quiet a noisy road, this new home turns inward to create an urban cloister buffered from the surrounding city. Although closed off from the busy intersection –and the seemingly incessant whistle of the soccer coach across the road– the interior life of this courtyard home remains open and expansive.
The siting of the home at the front edge of the corner lot is somewhat counter-intuitive. Instead of shirking from the noise to the farther 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. They carefully measured the decibel levels across the site to identify an acceptable noise level for the family of four. The designers then reverse engineered the design challenge by first asking what length, height and material for an acoustic wall would achieve the desired sound levels behind the barrier. The answer became the 14-foot-tall board formed concrete wall that both anchors the home on the site and is ever-present on the interior.
The positioning of the project’s orientation and openings of the house were carefully located through analysis of the site’s natural conditions, to achieve maximum passive cooling through the hottest months of the year. Utilizing the courtyard typology, every space of the house is connected with the outdoors, taking full advantage of natural daylight, and direct visual/physical connection with surrounding nature.
On a more conceptual level, 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. To capture this, each space looks through a series of layered indoor and outdoor adjacent spaces, each with its own quality of light –thus dramatically increasing the sense of depth and scale in the relatively small site. For the architects, the leitmotif of the project was the commitment that the loss of one sense should always be balanced out with heightening the perceptions of another. The Modal Home was borne out of embracing a site’s perceived deficits as the inspiration for rising above them.
Images: Bruce Damonte courtesy of S^A | Schwartz and Architecture
Atkinson Architecture
This new house is situated on a hill in a valley. The configuration of the house is such that it presents a dramatic cantilever seen upon entry from below and a level living space high enough to take advantage of views of the valley. Because the parking is positioned somewhat below, it was decided to have a detached garage and a picturesque entry stair up to the main living level. The floor plan of the house is in a basic “L” shape and there is a diagonal connection between the main living space and a rear court area.
Of particular note in this house is the “rain screen” siding treatment. This approach to exterior siding allows rain and weather to penetrate through gaps in the siding to a rubberized barrier. One advantage of this approach is moisture control and preservation of the ipe wood siding and used here.
images: Dennis Mayer courtesy of Atkinson Architecture
Greenberg Construction +
Studio S Squared
The design embodies a harmonious blend of natural wood elements and modern, clean lines, echoing the lush landscapes of Redwood City. This thoughtful integration of materials is not only aesthetically pleasing but also speaks to a philosophy of balance between urban living and nature.
An epitome of modern design, this masterpiece boasts curtain glass walls made in Italy, beautifully juxtaposed with wood siding and smooth stucco finishes.
Notice the architectural wonders from every angle, especially the front which showcases a magnificent 200-year-old olive tree standing as a testament to time and beauty. This home is not just a structure; it’s a blend of art and architecture, heritage and modernity.
images: Boaz Meiri Photography, Inc. courtesy of Greenberg Construction
Srusti Architects +
Belmont Investment Group
This brand-new contemporary construction boasts 5-bedroom suites and an additional half-bath in 4,000 SQFT of living space, plus 500 SQFT two car garage. The gourmet chef’s kitchen with high end appliances flows into the great room, which opens up into a generous size deck for additional entertainment and outdoor hosting. The downstairs family room doubles as an entertainment space featuring a kitchenette/bar, and a striking glass-walled walk-in wine room. Two bedrooms are upstairs, and the rest are downstairs for additional privacy. The owners en suite feature a large walk-in closet, and a spa like bathroom. The property enjoys a 28,996 SQFT lot, which opens to 260 acres of protected open space. Access the multi-use trail system for hiking/mountain biking directly from the backyard. Beautiful views of Sugarloaf Mountain and Laurelwood nature preserve.
images courtesy Belmont Investment Group
Atkinson Architecture
This is an extensive remodel of a plain and problematic house. Existing features that required improvement included: vinyl siding with colonial columns; mermaid and unicorn-themed stained glass; poor room definitions and flow; and the lack of any connection between the second floor living area to the exterior side pool area. Oddly, the solution largely involved keeping the main functions where they currently were: entry, main stairs, living room, kitchen, garage, and bedrooms. However, the ceiling was raised in the main living area and transformed with a central sky lighting/louver system to create a more gracious and comfortable central gathering space. And a far more efficient arrangement of walls and circulation transforms the functional performance of the house. A new diagonal connection from the main living area down across the entry foyer to the pool provides a new connection between the two most important areas of the house. The budget for stylistic improvements was largely used at the main entry façade to create deeply recessed second floor windows and the addition of a lower level projecting roof to create a more balanced and pleasing composition.
images: Dennis Mayer courtesy of Atkinson Architecture
UTOPIA Design & Construction
This new Modernized Spanish Colonial house is transformed from one-story, 3 BR/ 2 BATH to a two-story 5BR/ 5BATH. The outdoor space is also fully renewed to accommodate comfortable indoor-outdoor living suitable for a Californian lifestyle.
The main focus for both indoor open floor plan and outdoor space is to be able to enjoy the house location surrounded with beautiful trees of closed by and near distance quick silver mountain.
The outdoor space provides separate seating areas to make sure the residence will be able to enjoy the outdoor year round. Whether it is for daily pleasure or entertaining guests.
A note from the architect: The indoor space focus is on providing a calm/Zen space with attention to natural material and neutral color.
The master bedroom sliding door opens to a relaxing garden.
The home office has an outdoor balcony with comfortable seating area to provide an alternative area for work and prevent seating behind the desk all day long.
images courtesy UTOPIA Design & Construction
TOPOS Architects
We completely reconstructed a 1960’s Mid-century modern house with expanded exterior walls and added central clerestory windows with raised roof forms, that provide expansive living and entertaining spaces with abundant lighting. From the sunken entrance foyer, with an oversized white oak pivot door, striking diagonal sight lines afford views through the house into the landscape. Expansive glazed walls silently glide open, blending inside and out.
images coming mid-April
Let's Go On A Journey To Find Inspiration!
Tour the homes. Meet the architects and designers, and Get Inspired!