In California, Feldman Architecture’s The Sanctuary Was Designed To Be An “Urban Oasis”

Located a short walk from downtown Palo Alto in California, ‘The Sanctuary’ was constructed as a modern house that allows the natural environment to speak for itself. Responding primarily to the site, the home is organized around a series of gardens and courtyards that weave through the building’s floor plan. “Each interior space is paired with its own landscape moment, allowing the architecture and landscape to flow into each other,” explains the firm. “The floor plate projects beyond the building envelope and dissolves into balconies to blur the sense of indoor-outdoor,” they continue. Board-formed concrete, large expanses of glass, and Alaskan yellow cedar wood cover the facade of the home, the latter of which will fade slightly to a silver tone over time. Interior highlights include white oak and walnut cabinetry, basalt countertops, and polished concrete floors. The architects said they hoped visiting guests would experience “the same sense of wonder that first drew our clients to this urban oasis.”