Our house. Featured in Dwell Magazine Nov/Dec 2024. View the Photo Gallery
If you’re thinking about designing and building a new home or remodeling your existing home, you have probably read Dwell Magazine or have come across its stellar architectural photography on Pinterest or around the web.
For those of you who plan to consume the next issue (Nov/Dec 2024) published this week online and on newsstands, we can’t wait for you to turn to page 78. That’s where you’ll find a story about the special house we built on Fair Ave in Santa Cruz.
Author Kelly Vencill Sanchez shares the rich history of the historic plot of land it’s built on, which dates back to the 1940s when the eccentric “Kitchen Brothers” owned the property and erected a series of elaborate stone and masonry structures that were later preserved by the city as historic landmarks.
Sanchez also explores how its architecture and design is one of a selection of homes that define the current state of American design: “Optimistic American Architecture.”
Editors write in their annual issue: “This year, we’re highlighting work that shines through an acrimonious moment—and makes the case for optimism.”
The two-story home is designed in collaboration with Young America Creative (thisisya.com) and showcases a host of materials, systems, and building practices that embody the elements of a green home, like the smart use of passive solar design, which allows the house to essentially heat and cool itself, saving on energy and making it more comfortable to live in.
Text by Kelly Vencill Sanchez
Photos by Nicholas Albrecht