When architects Robert Edmonds and Vivian Lee moved from New York City to San Francisco, they discovered something many outsiders don’t know about the City by the Bay: The fog is not distributed equitably.
After a few years, they’d had enough. “We wanted to move to an area with more sun and fewer hills,” says Lee. “Plus, we were looking for a neighborhood with a vibrant Main Street.”
They found the conditions they were looking for in Noe Valley. But while the charming neighborhood has what many would consider a more favorable climate, it is also home to some of the more eye-popping real estate prices in the city. The couple eschewed the properties that might incite a bidding frenzy and instead looked for homes that would be more likely to induce a sinking feeling.
“As architects, we didn’t want to live in someone else’s architecture, we wanted to live in our own,” says Edmonds. “We started looking for an extreme fixer where we could make a project for ourselves. We were searching for the place nearly everyone else would consider a disaster.”
The only way to describe the 750-square-foot home they found was rough. “It was in very, very poor shape,” says Edmonds.
In other words, it was perfect for them.
Given the size and the condition of the house, the architects determined the best thing to do would be to tear it down and start over, a process that promises a lengthy review and much discussion at the Planning Department. Developers eyeing the house must have determined the same thing, as most decided to pass on the property. “They knew the project would be in Planning for a year or two—or possibly longer. That’s the kind of thing most developers aren’t eager to take on. But we could wait,” says Edmonds. (The process took them more than two years.)
The home they created, a dramatic house with a loft-like feel, proved to be worth the wait for the couple and their two children. “We wanted to make a modern home for a family,” says Lee. “There’s a perception that modern homes are not practical for real people, and we set out to disprove that by showcasing the functionality of the style.”
Although they had remodeled homes for themselves, they had never built one from scratch. They found the process liberating. “We had the freedom to design what we wanted. We just didn’t have the freedom to pay for it,” says Edmonds. “We had to make very deliberate decisions about what we wanted and what we could afford. But as we tell our clients, sometimes constraint leads to great design.”
Although they were starting with a blank slate, the architects decided to subtly reference the past and nearby dwellings by giving the new house a gabled roof. “Most modern homes have flat roofs, and we wanted to see if we could make it work with a gabled roofline,” says Edmonds.
Even though they could have added another story, the architects chose not to do so. “We were going for quality, not quantity,” explains Edmonds.
The couple decided to rethink what is needed in an interior. “We tried to eliminate all of the boundaries you find in a traditional home,” says Lee. “We don’t have a formal foyer or formal living room. There are very few hallways. It’s basically one big space.”
They flipped the layout by putting the bedrooms on the lower level and the kitchen and living room on the upper level. By putting the public areas on the upper level they not only get to enjoy the view during the daylight hours, but they can access the outdoors via terraces at the front and rear of the home. “It seemed logical to have a layout where you can enjoy the views during the daylight hours,” says Lee.
The living area is sunken, three feet down from the kitchen. “We followed the topography of the site, and we chose to see it as an opportunity rather than a liability,” Lee says. “By allowing the living room to be on a lower level, we could build a home that appears smaller rather than massive [there’s no need to ‘build up’ a slope]. We also created an opportunity for built-in seating and a ‘stage’ where our boys like to perform.”
The interior is largely white but, in the kitchen, a monolithic black island makes for a crisp contrast. The walls of white cabinets, with no hardware in sight, seem to dissolve into the background—until you open them. Behind the white cabinet fronts are gray interiors. “We love the contrast,” says Lee. “But for the most part, we do want the kitchen to recede. If it doesn’t read as a kitchen, it makes the space much more fluid.”
The home can be considered minimalist, but not monastic. With two children and mere mortal status, the architects had to make the minimal aesthetic work for a regular family.
“Just like most people, we have a toaster and a microwave,” admits Edmonds. “We just made sure that we have lots of storage in the kitchen, extra storage closets, and room for the kids where they can be themselves and be messy if they want.”
But that’s not to say the kids don’t appreciate their new home. “It was a great exercise for them to see the building process,” says Lee. “Not only did they get to see what we do for a living, they saw the effort behind it. In a disposable society, I think this showed them how to make something lasting.”
This article originally appeared on Curbed San Francisco.
https://sf.curbed.com/2018/1/8/16850704/san-francisco-home-tour-edmonds-lee
© Vox Media Inc., 2018.
REGISTER FOR DETAILS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
California Privacy Notice
Background and scope
This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) is issued on behalf of the Hines (“Hines”, “We”, “Our”, “Us”) group of entities, including Hines Living US LLC. Hines is sensitive to the confidentiality of your Personal Information and has created this Notice in order to demonstrate Hines’ commitment to privacy. This Notice applies to all information you provide to Hines, or Hines obtains from you, or about you.
If we change our Notice we will post the changes on this page and may place notices on other pages of the web site, so that you may be aware of the information we collect and how we use it at all times.
Personal information refers to data that could be used, alone or in combination with other data, to identify you as an individual. Personal Information also includes information designated as such under California law. Personal Information does not include publicly available information, or information that is deidentified or aggregated information.
The personal information we collect about you is to facilitate the provision of residential housing on your behalf and associated services.
Hines may collect the following categories of personal information:
contact information (such as name, alias, postal address, telephone number, email address, zip code);
passport details, driver’s license number, social security number;
online identifiers (such as IP address, online account name, or other unique online identifier);
Other similar identifiers
Personal information not otherwise described in another category, including, but not limited to, signature, insurance policy number, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information.
Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (such as gender or age);
Commercial Information, including records of services obtained or considered;
Internet or other electronic network activity (such as browsing history, search history, the device and network you are using to connect, web server logs, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an internet website application, or advertisements), as further described in Section 11;
Geolocation data;
Audio (such as voice recordings used for quality control and dispute resolution), electronic, and visual information (such as video surveillance);
Professional or employment-related information (including occupation, job title, department, and name of organization and job history);
Inferences drawn from other information to create a profile reflecting a consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, dispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes; and
Sensitive information, such as social security, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number
With respect to minors, we may collect the names of minors as occupants of your household if you fill out an application or become a resident. We do not intentionally collect Personal Information from minors without the consent of a parent or guardian. Any Personal Information of minor is protected according to this Notice.
How do we collect personal information?
Hines collects personal information from the following categories of sources:
You, we collect personal information directly from our interactions with you, for example:
When you make inquiries or provide information through our website, in person, or by contacting us directly by telephone or through email. When you complete a residential application. When you submit information through an online form, survey, or other interactive area of our website. When you submit information through our resident accessible portal. When you visit our website, use an application, or open an email including from data analytic providers and other service providers. When you interact with us on social media.
Service providers that manage and maintain our services, for example:
Property management platform providers
Data analytics providers for our website and applications
Network security providers for our IT environment
Analytics
Some pages on this web site use a technology called "cookies". A cookie is a token that a server gives to your browser when you access a web site. Cookies are capable of storing many types of data. Cookies help provide additional functionality to the web site or help us analyze web site usage more accurately. For instance, our server may set a cookie that keeps you from having to enter a password more than once during a visit to the web site. We use cookies to collect both Personal Information and non-Personal Information. In all cases in which cookies are used, we will not collect personally identifiable information except with your explicit permission. With most Internet browsers, you can erase cookies from your computer hard drive, block all cookies, or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. Please refer to your browser instructions or help screen to learn more about these functions.
Hines may use your Personal Information to contact you about the offerings or services in which you have expressed an interest. We collect and use Personal Information for the following purposes:
providing you with residential services, including processing your residential application, enabling your residential lease, maintaining your residential lease, creating and maintaining a tenant account, processing your payments, subscribing you to our e-newsletter and other residential notification materials;
developing and improving our residential services, including conducting market research, tenant satisfaction surveys, and requesting feedback on your tenant experience;
operating, evaluating and improving our business (including developing new products and services; managing our communications; determining the effectiveness of and optimizing our advertising; analyzing our products, services, websites, mobile applications and any other digital assets; facilitating the functionality of our websites, and mobile applications and any other digital assets);
responding to your enquiries;
sending marketing and promotional materials related to our products and services, including, physical mailers, electronic marketing and notifications, and telephone calls;
managing, maintaining, and protecting our digital environment, such as our network environment, our websites, and our applications, including detecting, deterring, protecting against, and investigating fraudulent, unauthorized, unlawful, or illegal activities and enforcing our Terms and Conditions;
managing, maintaining, and protecting our physical environment, including detecting, deterring, protecting against, and investigating fraudulent, unauthorized or illegal activities;
protecting the health and safety of tenants, visitors, employees, contractors, and others at any of our facilities;
complying with and enforcing our legal requirements, including regulatory reporting and compliance, requests from law enforcement, requests of governmental authorities, and valid court orders or from other valid legal process; and
performing business functions necessary to support and maintain the business of Hines, including internal accounting and administration.
We also may use the information in other ways for which we provide specific notice at the time of collection
In the preceding 12 months we have not “sold” (as the term “sale” is defined in the CCPA) or “shared” (as the term “share” is defined in the CCPA) Personal Information.
This web site is not directed to children. To our actual knowledge we do not sell or share the Personal Information of consumers under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 on the web site. If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide any Personal Information to us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under the age of 13, we will make commercially reasonable efforts to delete such information from our database.
Is personal information disclosed to persons or entities?
Hines may have disclosed your Personal Information to the persons or entities described in this Section. We do not disclose your Personal Information to persons or entities, except as described in this Notice. Entities to whom we disclose Personal Information in this Section are required to maintain the confidentiality of such Personal Information and are prohibited from using your Personal Information for purposes other than those agreed. As used in this section, “disclose” means transfer, send, or otherwise made available or accessible to another person or entity, but does not include selling or sharing as those terms are defined under the CCPA.
Your Personal Information may be disclosed to the following types of persons or entities:
Affiliated companies of Hines;
Professional advisors, service providers, contractors, and suppliers who perform services to facilitate the business of Hines or your residential lease with us, such as accountants, auditors, attorneys, tax advisors, financial advisors, insurance brokers, entities assessing our compliance with industry standards, investigation providers, payment processing providers, printing and mailing companies, marketing and advertising suppliers, email delivery providers, on-site property management providers, security vendors, data analytics providers, information technology vendors, platform providers, resident services providers, and other similar services (“Service Providers”);
Property owners;
Intermediaries, brokers, real estate agents, renters’ agents, and other individuals and entities that partner with us (“Broker Partners”)
Transactional parties, in the event of any contemplated or actual re-organization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stocks (“Transactional Parties”);
Competent authorities, national and/or international regulatory agencies, law enforcement authorities, statutory or public bodies, or judicial body, court or other form of tribunal (“Governmental Authorities”);
In the preceding 12 months we disclosed personal information as follows:
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Identifiers |
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Personal Information described in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) and not described in another category |
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Characteristics of protected classifications |
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Commercial Information |
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Internet / Electronic Network Activity |
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Geolocation Data |
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Audio, Electronic, and Visual Information |
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Professional or Employment-Related Information |
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Inferences drawn to create a profile |
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Sensitive Information |
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We do not use or disclose your sensitive personal information for purposes other than those allowed under the CCPA, including Section 7027, subsection (m).
Under the CCPA, you have the following rights:
Right to Know. You have the right to know the Personal Information we have collected about you during the previous 12 months, including the categories of Personal Information and the specific pieces of Personal Information we have collected about you, the categories of sources from which the Personal Information is collected, the purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing personal information, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose Personal Information.
Right to Delete. You have the right to delete or have your Personal Information deleted, subject to certain exceptions. If an exception prevents us from deleting your Personal Information, we will inform you at the time you make the request.
Right to Correct Inaccuracies. You have the right to correct inaccurate Personal Information or request inaccurate Personal Information be corrected.
Right to No Retaliation. You have the right to exercise the above rights free from retaliation, including we will not deny of goods or services, charge different prices where the difference is not related to the value of the Personal Information, or offer different level of quality of goods or services. Denial of services or change in service level due to exercise of your rights does not constitute retaliation.
To make a request regarding your rights, contact us by telephone at 888.928.6029 or by email at [email protected]. At any time, our residents may visit their resident portal to manage their personal information.
In order to verify your identity, we request that you provide your name and the address of the Hines property associated with your name. We may also request a copy of your driver’s license if we are unable to verify your information. In addition, we request that you provide an email address in order to contact you regarding your request.
We will respond to your request within the 45-day period required by applicable law. In the event we cannot respond to your request, we will notify you of the reasons for the delay and the extended period for response. If we determine that we cannot respond to your request for any reason, we will notify you of the reasons for taking no action and for any instructions as to how to appeal.
You may use an authorized agent to exercise your rights on your behalf. The authorized agent must provide us with proof of your written permission (for example, a power of attorney) that demonstrates authorization to submit a request on your behalf. An authorized agent must follow the process described above to make a request and must verify the agent’s own identity.
Further correspondence regarding questions, comments, or concerns should be made in writing to [email protected].
How secure is my Personal Information?
We have put in place various security procedures as set out in this Notice. Hines takes the security and privacy of Personal Information extremely seriously. We have strict internal procedures which cover the storage, access, and disclosure of your information.
We maintain an information security program designed to protect your Personal Information, including reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the Personal Information to protect the Personal Information from unauthorized or illegal access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.
How long do we keep your Personal Information?
We will hold your personal information on Hines’ systems for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected or to comply with legal, regulatory, or internal policy requirements.
Do you maintain linked sites?
Our websites may contain links to third party websites over which we have no control. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any linked third party websites you visit as their privacy policies and practices may differ from ours.
The Site may provide you with links to other web sites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any information that you may provide to third parties, such as through other sites linked to through the Site. Hines is not responsible for those sites and cannot control the content of what is offered on those sites, or on links from those sites, or the privacy policy or data security, if any, of those sites.
Please take the time to read our Terms, including the limitations on damages and application of the law of the state of Texas. These terms govern our interactions as a legal contract, and we welcome and encourage the time you spend becoming familiar with these legal terms as much as we welcome the time you spend on our web site and your support of Hines.
Who do I contact to give feedback, ask questions, or make complaints?
Questions, comments, or concerns related to this Notice or our privacy practices, can be made by contacting us at 888.928.6029 and [email protected].
If you wish to exercise any of your Rights, please see Section 7 of this Notice.
Changes to our Notice
We reserve the right to amend this Notice from time to time. As required, we will notify you of an updated and amended copy of this Notice. If we change our Notice, we will post the changes on this page and may place notices on other pages of the web site, so that you may be aware of the information we collect and how we use it at all times.
This Privacy Notice was last updated on April 1, 2024.
