Project Description
Discovering the Hidden Valley
Custom-made sliding glass doors create an effortless indoor-outdoor rhythm in this contemporary home with expansive views.
When Peter Brockman first saw the Marin-Calif.-area home he would transform into a contemporary custom home, it was a dilapidated 50-year-old Frankenstein that had been added onto too many times over the years. But Brockman was already seeing well beyond the structure.
“The home is set in this valley with multiple view angles,” says Brockman, owner and principal of The Brockman Design Studio, recalling his first visit to the site. “I wanted to take advantage of all the sunlight and the views and let those dictate the design. It’s all moving and turning to discover the next cool space. And that’s all done through using the light and the windows to invite you to move through the rooms.”
For Brockman, achieving that result started with designing the front of the home around a soaring view of Mt. Tam, the unofficial temple of Marin. But it was the back side of the home that truly excited Brockman and gives the home what he calls its “rhythm.” That tempo is achieved through a thoughtful merging of the indoors with the expansive outdoor patio, courtyard and pool, all of which look out over the mountain’s rambling eastern ridgeline.
Of course, any song needs an instrument, and in this case, it’s the sliding glass doors that form a triangle of window walls and an effortless portal between inside and outside. But because Brockman wanted the views to dictate the design, he also knew he’d need window walls from a company that could accommodate his contemporary aesthetic and the need for custom sizes. He found both in LaCantina Doors, a California glass door and window manufacturer.
“LaCantina’s aluminum wood system offered the perfect size, function and clarity to allow the indoors to become outdoors with ease and simplicity,” Brockman says. “The flexibility of not having to pick standard sizes and having them produce a product that could be 24-feet wide and 10-feet tall with no real lead time — and it coming to the house precision perfect — gave me the opportunity to expand our language of contemporary architecture.”
Brockman points to the home’s three panel multi slide door system which helped him create a journey through the house while at the same time extending an invitation to discover the open space beyond. “A sort of draw or pull one is offered as a reward upon arrival,” he says.
Similarly, a two panel slider created the ideal opening to the patio and a focus on the firepit, courtyard and pool. “From the furthest patio, the opening centers on the hearth, inviting one to sit and enjoy,” Brockman says.
Inside, LaCantina offered a series of choices for the wood grain framing — Brockman chose vertical grain Doug fir — that further enhances the feeling of nature mingling with manmade. Outside, the sturdy metal cladding offers a slim enough profile to fit the contemporary motif, but still strong enough to withstand the rain storms that blow through the Marin valleys.
“Too many products are overdesigned and hinder you from seeing the real beauty, which is the outdoor space,” he says. “With this design, one can truly be indoors and outdoors. With a slight whip of the fingers, the doors slide effortlessly to create the perfect opening. And when they’re closed, they add a rhythm to a contemporary lifestyle.”
To learn how you can build a home that offers an indoor/outdoor living space, visit LaCantina Doors.com.
Doors and Windows: LaCantina Multi Slide Doors from Daniel Lorber, Associated Building Supply, Inc.
General Contractor: Summit Professional Builders, Inc.
Builders/Owner: Gregg Foster