paso robles residence, paso robles, calif.
aidlin darling design
san francisco
Before they began designing this Paso Robles, Calif., house, architects Joshua Aidlin, AIA, and Peter Larsen camped out on the 78-acre site to gain a sense of its daily rhythms and idiosyncrasies. This experience influenced the home’s eventual location, on a low-lying, tree-shaded patch of land. And it helped Aidlin, Larsen, and David Darling, AIA, figure out how create a building that cools itself naturally, even in 115-degree temperatures. Their use of passive solar principles—thermal mass, night cooling, orientation, shading, and ventilation—allowed them to bypass air conditioning, thus helping to meet the clients’ goal of living in harmony with the local climate.
“It’s a well-composed testimony that modern architecture still has drawing power,” said a judge. “It’s not trying too hard.”
project credits
partners: Joshua Aidlin, AIA, and David Darling, AIA, Aidlin Darling Design; principal: Peter Larsen, Aidlin Darling Design; project designer: Michael Pierry, Aidlin Darling Design; general contractor: Turko Semmes, Semmes & Co. Builders, Atascadero, Calif.; landscape contractor: Rick Mathews, Madrone Landscapes, Atascadero; interior designer: Aidlin Darling Design; structural engineer: Bill Lynch, Berkeley Structural Design, Berkeley, Calif.; civil engineer: Barak Miles, Geo-West, Atascadero; project size: 2,667 square feet; site size: 78 acres; construction cost: Withheld; photography: Matthew Millman Photography.
product details
bathroom fittings/fixtures: Kohler, www.kohler.com, Duravit, www.duravit.us, TOTO, www.totousa.com; cooktop: Wolf, www.subzero-wolf.com; countertops: DuPont, www2.dupont.com; dishwasher: Miele, www.miele.com; doors/windows: Semco, www.semcowindows.com, Fleetwood, www.fleetwoodusa.com; exterior siding: Basalite, www.basalite.com; flooring (carpet): Tretford, www.tretford.com; garbage disposal: InSinkErator, www.insinkerator.com; hardware: Omnia, www.omniaindustries.com, Hager, www.hagerco.com, Dorma, www.dorma.com; insulation: Certainteed, www.certainteed.com; kitchen fittings: Waterstone, www.waterstoneco.com; kitchen fixtures: Franke, www.franke.com; lighting fixtures: Lightolier, www.lightolier.com, Hunza, www.hunza.co.nz, Artemide, www.artemide.us; range: Dacor, www.dacor.com; paints/stains/wall finishes: Benjamin Moore, www.benjaminmoore.com; refrigerator: Amana, www.amana.com; roofing: IB Roof Systems, www.ibroof.com; skylight: O’Keeffe’s, www.okeeffes.com
