Buena Vista Road Residence

Berkeley, 2005

Trachtenberg Architects designed this two-story addition to a historic, landmarked home in the Berkeley hills.  To impact the existing house, so exquisitely resolved in and of itself, as little as possible, the addition touches the existing house very lightly through a second story bridge.  The addition borrows directly from the language of the original in terms of composition, massing, materials and detailing, and appears inevitably and seamlessly married to the original.  The addition, totally 750 sq. ft. consists of a garden music room which opens out onto a trellised patio on the ground floor and a new master bedroom suite accessed via the bridge on the second floor.

The great poet, painter, and philosopher of 19th century Berkeley, Charles Keeler, famously wrote that “Berkeley architecture is hillside gardening with a few rooms in case of rain”.  This house takes inspiration from this ideal.

Owner: Jon and Evelyn Rantzman
Architect: David Trachtenberg, Ken Powelson
Builder: Chris Rantzman