Fougeron Architecture Opposition/Composition Anne Fougeron Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Published by Princeton Architectural Press 37 East Seventh Street New York, New York 10003 For a free catalog of books, call 1.800.722.6657. Visit our website at www.papress.com. © 2011 Princeton Architectural Press All rights reser ved Printed and bound in China 14 13 12 11 4 3 2 1 First edition No par t of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher, except in the context of reviews. Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright. Errors or omissions will be corrected in subsequent editions. Editors: Nicola Bednarek Brower and Thomas Cho Designer: Jan Haux Special thanks to: Bree Anne Apperley, Sara Bader, Janet Behning, Megan Carey, Carina Cha, Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Russell Fernandez, Linda Lee, John Myers, Katharine Myers, Margaret Rogalski, Dan Simon, Andrew Stepanian, Jennifer Thompson, Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston, and Deb Wood of Princeton Architectural Press—Kevin C. Lipper t, publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fougeron, Anne. Fougeron Architecture : opposition/composition / Anne Fougeron. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-56898-990-7 (alk. paper) 1. Fougeron Architecture (Firm) 2. Architecture—United States— History—20th century. 3. Architecture—United States—History—21st century. I. Title. II. Title: Opposition /composition. NA737.F676A4 2011 720.92’2—dc22 2010047580
© 2011 Stephen Flavin / Ar tists Rights Society (ARS), New York, 12 (bottom) © 2011 Rober t Ir win / Ar tists Rights Society (ARS), New York, 12 (top) Sean Bailey 178–82, 185–87 Richard Barnes 18, 20, 23–26, 28, 29 (top), 30 (left), 31–33, 44, 53–54, 55 (top), 56 (top), 57, 69–71, 76–77, 81, 84–85, 88–91, 93, 95–101, front and back cover Marcin Brzezicki 17 Grey Crawford 35 (top), 36, 40, 142, 145– 47 Joe Fletcher 122–23, 127, 150 –51, 152–53 (top), 154, 155 (top), 156–57, 158, 160 –63, 165–69 Jacek Gaczynski 66 (top), 102, 106–8, 111–13 Andrea Higgins 29 (bottom) Tom Johnson 65 Jay Jones 176–77 Ethan Kaplan 170, 172–74 Kimbell Ar t Museum, For t Wor th, Texas / Ar t Resource, NY, 13 (top) Viktor Kaposi 11 (bottom) Doris Lohmann 11 (top) Matthew Millman 34, 35 (bottom), 37–38, 41– 43, 130 –31, 133–37, 139, 140 – 41; Reprinted with permission from Metropolitan Home magazine. Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. 64, 67, 72–75, 77 (right), 78–80, front flap Pietro Russo 115 Tim Street-Por ter 46– 47, 49–51, back flap Rien Van Rijthoven 116–17, 119, 120 –21, 125 © Alber t Vecerka/Esto. All rights reser ved. 58–63 Jim Whitehead 103
Contents 9
Foreword
Hitoshi Abe
11
Preface
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Acknowledgments
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Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde: Modernism in the Traditional American City
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1532 House
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21 House
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440 House
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Fuel Lounge
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Tehama Grasshopper
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Tension/Transformation: Forces of Nature Jackson Family Retreat Buck Creek House
Design/Democracy: The Political Terrain
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Parkview Terraces
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Planned Parenthood Golden Gate Projects
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Eddy Street Administrative Offices
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San Mateo Call Center
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MacAr thur Health Center
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Culture/Context: Twenty-First-Century Civitas
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Ingleside Branch Library
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Hosfelt Gallery
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City of the Future
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Project Credits
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Select Bibliography
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Office Credits
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Biography
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde: Modernism in the Traditional American City A successful work of ar t is not one which resolves contradictions in a spurious harmony, but one which expresses the idea of harmony negatively by embodying the contradictions, pure and uncompromised, in its innermost structure. —Theodor W. Adorno, Prisms
Theodor W. Adorno, Prisms (London: Neville 16 Spearman), 32.
The new modernist interrogates the urban landscape with the critical eye of the Victorian flaneur, acting as both innovator and investigator of social forces. Yet this sharp inquiry never attempts to resolve the city’s contradictions. The roughness of Mr. Hyde is now allowed to appear alongside the refinement of Dr. Jekyll. In fact, the new modernist liberates all split personalities—old and new, public and private, interior and exterior—through rigorous yet idiosyncratic designs like the remodeled Maison de Verre. Embracing and heightening such visual tensions engages the city dweller’s fascination with exposure. Acting as a form of the intriguing and incessant communication we crave, these designs allow us to see and be seen in multiple ways. Thresholds change meaning in this world of ambiguous boundaries. Gone is the single entryway guarding a solid Victorian facade. The outer skin protecting our inner space now becomes translucent, admitting access to city and nature. Traditionally private rooms—where we undress, bathe, reveal—are now provocaPierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet, Maison de Verre, Paris, France, 1932
tively displayed. Even our horizons become playfully distorted by reimagined distinctions between ceiling and sky that challenge our perception of limits. In each of Fougeron Architecture’s designs, light acts as the transformational Jekyll/Hyde elixir, a form generator. It dissolves corners and walls, separates old and new, and revises notions of inside and outside. Entering not just through windows but from walls and surfaces above and below, light imbues space with multiple, changing identities, illuminating the complexity of modern life.
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1532 House San Francisco, California, 2006
This new San Francisco residence and studio, infilled on a twenty-five-foot-wide lot, reverses the reading of the city’s Victorian houses with a completely porous front facade. Its broad bay window intentionally invites passersby to look into the street-facing painter’s studio and beyond—the sight line continuing through the studio and the three-story home in the rear to the backyard. Open slats replace siding, breaking the street wall while subtly echoing its rhythm. The design incorporates two sectional moves. A horizontal one introduces a cour tyard between the front and rear structures; a ver tical one brings the ground floor, which includes the garage and bedrooms, down to street level. These two design elements create a powerful interplay between inside and out and between different levels of the house and studio. Light and transparency shape dramatic interior and exterior spaces. This is a rare typology for San Francisco homes, whose lots are usually too shallow to accommodate an open cour tyard. It promises a solution to a major problem in most city residences. Often deep and lit only from the front and back, they are invariably dark in the middle. On the contrary, the 1532 House has seven outdoor spaces, all with distinct qualities and views. Decks, walkways, and gardens unfurl around the living areas, heightening the visual complexity of the structure and its site. The second floor of the house—an open floor plan with kitchen, dining, and living areas—is punctuated by a two-story staircase and is on grade with the backyard. The third-floor suite consists of a master bedroom, bath, and study. The bedroom’s bay window opens up a spectacular view of the backyard and the city park beyond, repeating the form of the glass bay at the front of the studio, which captures a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The 1532 House is inseparable from its context. From every vantage point within, residents are visually connected to the incredibly varied urban landscape without.
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Front facade
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Deck Living room Master bedroom Ar tist’s studio Garage Street Courtyard Main house Rear yard
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Open ground Open deck Solar energy equipment
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opposite top: Open-space studies bottom: Conceptual diagram
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1 Entr y 21 Deck 1 Entr Entr y y 32 Bridge 2 Deck Deck 43 Living room 3 Bridge Bridge 54 Bedroom 4 Living room Living room 65 Master bedroom 5 Bedroom Bedroom 76 Ar studio 6tist’s Master bedroom Master bedroom 87 Garage 7 tist’s Ar tist’s studio Ar studio 98 Cour tyard 8 Garage Garage 109 Kitchen 9 Cour tyard Cour tyard 1110 Study 10 Kitchen Kitchen Study 11 11 Study
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opposite View along circulation spine
this page top: Staircase detail bottom: Weaving-rail inspiration: client paintings
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this page left: Bay window and wood screen detail right: 3-D rendering of bay window and wood screen detail
opposite Front facade
1 Steel framed, built-up roof and metal fascia 2 Wood clad parapet wall 1 Steel framed, built-up roof and metal fascia 3 Roof deck 2 Wood clad parapet wall 4 Wood screen assembly 3 Roof deck 5 Insulated wood framed wall 4 Wood screen assembly 6 Metal L3 x 2 frame 5 Insulated wood framed wall 7 Sloping glass roof and continuous stop 6 Metal L3 x 2 frame 8 Insulated field glazing 7 Sloping glass roof and continuous stop 9 Wood framed, cantilevered structure for bay window 8 Insulated field glazing 10 Parallam at garage door head 9 Wood framed, cantilevered structure for bay window Matching wood shiplap siding over facade and garage door 1011Parallam at garage door head 11 Matching wood shiplap siding over facade and garage door
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this page Central cour tyard
opposite View from backyard
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