In the Los Altos Hills, where mature oaks punctuate the landscape and glimpses of the San Francisco Bay shimmer in the distance, Guzhai emerges as a study in cross-cultural collaboration and multigenerational living. The 4,890-square-foot residence, conceived by Feldman Architecture, represents more than an architectural achievement. It embodies the universal language of design that transcends words, cultures, and continents.
The client, himself an architect and engineer with deep roots in modern design, approached the firm with a clear vision. Create a biophilic sanctuary for his wife and young twins while establishing a welcoming hub for his extended international family. The brief called for a home that could accommodate visiting parents, host gathering friends, and adapt seamlessly to the rhythms of daily life across three generations. What emerged from this challenge was a residence that speaks to the timeless question of how architecture can foster connection—both to nature and to one another.
The design process itself became a lesson in the power of visual communication. With limited Mandarin proficiency on the architectural team and a Mandarin-speaking client, early conversations unfolded through drawings, diagrams, plans, and a meticulously crafted physical model. This constraint did not hinder progress. Instead, it sharpened the focus on pure design ideas. Images replaced lengthy explanations. Forms conveyed intent. The addition of bilingual engineers and builders to the team, along with Mandarin-speaking staff members at Feldman Architecture, proved instrumental. This was crucial not just in bridging language gaps, but in building the trust that underwrites any successful collaboration. The result is a home where concept and aesthetic speak louder than words ever could.
Sited on a flag lot surrounded by mature vegetation and open space, the residence unfolds as two perpendicular volumes. They create a protective embrace around a private courtyard and pool. The L-shaped configuration responds thoughtfully to the hillside topography. Thus, it nestles outdoor living spaces between architecture and landscape. This courtyard becomes the heart of the home’s connection to the site. It is a sheltered retreat that links directly to a ground-level guest suite designed specifically for the client’s visiting parents.
The ground floor prioritizes flow and openness. Kitchen, dining, and family spaces merge seamlessly, spilling into outdoor living areas with minimal threshold. At the center, a double-height living room functions as the home’s thermal engine—a passively cooled volume. Strategically placed windows pull cool air from lower levels upward. This creates natural ventilation that responds to the Bay Area’s temperate climate. A covered patio at the rear and a trellis at the front dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior. Hence, they transform the surrounding landscape into living artwork, carefully framed by the architecture’s clean lines.
Above, the second floor appears to float—a delicate balancing act supported by the lower level at one end and the hillside at the other. Here, privacy reigns. The primary suite hovers above the oak grove, its windows capturing northern views across the bay. At the opposite end, the twins’ bedrooms mirror each other with democratic precision, “not to favor one over the other,” as the client requested. Between them, a shared study nook encourages collaboration and connection. Throughout this upper level, a double-height stone fireplace anchors the vertical experience. Meanwhile, wood slats cast ever-changing patterns of dappled light across interior surfaces.
Below grade, a subterranean level houses an office, additional guest quarters, and a nanny suite—each space illuminated by carefully positioned lightwells. These channel daylight into rooms that might otherwise feel enclosed. The office connects via an exterior staircase to the covered patio above. This creates a vertical circulation path that separates work from family life while maintaining visual connection. This patio, equipped with a fireplace and moveable wood-slatted screens, offers flexible control over southern exposure. It adapts to the needs of intimate dinners or larger gatherings with equal grace.
The material palette exercises restraint, allowing natural textures to create visual interest through subtle contrast rather than bold gesture. Exterior surfaces combine bush-hammered travertine with reclaimed Ulin wood siding—materials that will age gracefully alongside the mature landscape. Inside, white oak paneling, black Fenix laminate, and white marble punctuated with brass accents establish a warm, minimalist backdrop. Furnishings remain understated and comfortable, while the daughter’s hand-drawn sketches add personal narrative to otherwise neutral walls.
This restraint proves purposeful. By keeping interior finishes subtle and refined, the architecture allows the surrounding landscape to provide color, texture, and ever-changing light. Shadows from oak branches dance across oak floors. Distant water reflects onto marble surfaces. The home becomes a frame—simultaneously protecting its inhabitants from the elements while connecting them intimately to the site’s natural beauty.
Guzhai ultimately transcends its program as a multigenerational residence. It stands as evidence that architecture’s most powerful tool isn’t verbal eloquence but spatial poetry. It is the ability to create environments that communicate meaning through proportion, light, material, and the careful choreography of human movement through space. Here, across languages and cultures, a home emerged that speaks universally.
Feldman Architecture | feldmanarchitecture.com
Photography: Adam Rouse
