Strachan Forgan
Steep, tight, and questionably legal, this San Francisco site was just the ticket for architect Strachan Forgan and his young family. “We really wanted to build in the city,” says Forgan, who negotiated hard to purchase the nonconforming lot. Two and a half years and three variances later, Forgan produced a compact jewel of a house that packs a ton of sophisticated living on its speck of urban real estate.
Forgan stepped the house’s street façade to mediate between the two neighboring buildings. “That also allowed us to create two roof decks,” he says. A two-story bay window updates a local architectural tradition while opening to nearby canyon views and funneling daylight deep into the house. The interior confidently juxtaposes refined materials with the rough surface of exposed concrete retaining walls.
Our judges praised the building as a “really clean, modern interpretation of a San Francisco row house.”
Project Credits
Entrant/Architect: Strachan Forgan, San Francisco
Builder: Bradford Construction, San Francisco
Living space: 1,850 square feet
Site: 0.02 acre
Construction cost: $400 per square foot
Photographer: Strachan Forgan
Product Specs
Bathroom fittings: Kohler Co.; Bathroom fixtures: Hansgrohe, Vola A/S; Bathroom cabinets: AlterECO; Cooktop, oven/range: Wolf Appliance; Countertops: CaesarStone USA, Cosentino USA (Silestone); Dishwasher: Bosch USA; Doors: NanaWall Systems, Simpson Door Co.; Exterior siding: James Hardie Building Products; Flooring (carpet): J+J/Invision; Flooring (ceramic tile/stone/concrete): GranitiFiandre; Flooring (wood): Smith & Fong Co.; Garbage disposer: In-Sink-Erator; Hardware: Omnia Industries; Insulation: Owens Corning; Kitchen cabinets: Arclinea Arredamenti S.p.A.; Kitchen fittings and fixtures: Blanco America; Lighting fixtures: Arclinea Arredamenti S.p.A., Axo Light SRL, Permlight Products; Paints/stains/wall finishes: Benjamin Moore & Co.; Refrigerator: Sub-Zero; Roofing: Johns Manville; Skylights/roof windows: O’Keeffe’s; Windows: Bonelli Enterprises
