Northpoint Residence

The presence of a little 1931 Marina-style house in the eponymous district could seem natural, even inevitable. Yet, the ground beneath this house has always been contested and unstable. The Wraparound House was born of the need to expand, remediate, and reclaim the contaminated earth below. FORMA worked with the architects on a horizontal and vertical addition, including a roof deck. The home was brought down to studs and rebuilt by lifting the home on cribbing and replacing the foundation.

In the context of contested ground, the Wraparound House lifts the ground plane from an extended backyard up through a series of terraces, connecting across four levels of shifting vantage points and allowing for a continuous experience of the landscape from the remediated soil of the yard up to the roof deck with panoramic views of the city and Bay. The existing house was lifted and allowed for soil remediation and foundation enhancements over a liquefaction zone and needed to be reconnected to its context, both new and old.