Northpoint Residence

The little 1931 Marina-style house in the eponymous district might seem natural, even inevitable. However, the ground beneath this San Francisco house has always faced contestation and instability. The Wraparound House emerged from the need to expand, remediate, and reclaim the contaminated earth below. FORMA Construction, Architects Spiegel Aihara Workshop, and Interior Designer Heidi Kim collaborated on this San Francisco home rebuild and addition, completely renovating the house with horizontal and vertical expansions, including a roof deck. They stripped the home down to its studs, lifted the structure, cribbed it, and replaced the foundation before rebuilding.

In response to the contested ground, this San Francisco home rebuild and addition elevates the ground plane from an extended backyard through a series of terraces, creating connections across four levels with shifting vantage points. This design allows a continuous experience of the landscape, from the remediated soil of the yard to the roof deck with panoramic views of the city and Bay. By lifting the existing house, the team facilitated soil remediation and foundation enhancements over a liquefaction zone, reconnecting the home to both its new and old context while balancing modern structural needs with the original character.