26 DIGS.NET
| 10.20.23
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P R O F I L E | K LO P F A R C H I T E C T U R E
S
et atop a boulder-strewn hill in the
wine-growing capital of Sonoma,
California, a strikingly horizontal
residence by San Francisco firm
Klopf Architecture keeps a low
profile. It does not, however, escape notice.
Then again, it couldn't possibly. With a flat
roof and wood-beam exterior interspersed
with vast expanses of glass that open the
4,068-squre-foot structure to the landscape
upon which it lightly sits, the edifice calls
to mind the iconic mid-century modern
form—one iteration of it specifically.
"We had previously worked with the
homeowners to remodel and update
another mid-century modern home they
owned in Sonoma," say the team from Klopf
Architecture, including Principal Architects
John Klopf and Geoffrey Campen, Lead
Designer Ethan Taylor, and Designer Noel
Andrade. "As their needs outgrew the
house, their aspirations grew alongside.
They approached us once again, this
time to design a house that was inspired
by the original but on a much grander
scale to support their space and layout
requirements." That the homeowners love
mid-century modern style, they add, "It was
important for the new house to eschew the
rhythm of the post and beam construction
style with a more modern and minimalist
sensibility for which we are known."
Klopf's residential work, which includes
d e s i g n i n g m o d e r n i s t h o m e s a n d
renovating modern and mid-century homes,
bridges modernist design with technical
understanding to create aesthetically
dynamic and resilient residential
infrastructure suited for our time. A hallmark
of this project, for example, is the firm's use
of exposed beams that travel from interior to
exterior, emphasizing the structure's indoor/
outdoor connection; its decision to employ
"rain chains" in lieu of frumpy downspouts
that rob sleeker architecture of its clarity
and crispness is a move more in keeping
with today's modern homes.
Taking the hilltop location and valley views
into consideration, the firm's low-lying
design, which does not extend vertically
beyond the trees on the site, is meant
to complement a terrain dominated by
Sonoma's rolling hills. The architecture itself
features an earthy palette that grounds the
