Boxed Set by Buttrick Projects Architecture + Design
Boxed Set in Orinda, California, United States, by Buttrick Projects Architecture + Design, reworks a bent-boomerang suburban ranch house into a clearer sequence of rooms and thresholds. A skylit central volume organizes the kitchen and dining room, while a street-side box marks the entry and a detached garage with ADU completes the private courtyard enclosure. Natural light reaches deep into the plan, reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day.
About Boxed Set
Working within the constraints of an existing bent-boomerang suburban ranch house plan, the design inserts a series of boxes to open up the rooms and mark the entry. A generous, open, skylit central volume forms the new dining room and kitchen. That volume bridges the public street side and the private rear patio, linking the uses together and bringing natural light deep into the plan. Because the house is so deep, artificial light is barely needed during the day.
Where the approach once felt uncertain, a second rectangular form on the street side marks the entry and creates a portico. The added piece gives the house a clearer threshold from the road and sets up the sequence that follows inside. Finally, a detached garage and ADU complete the central private courtyard enclosure, expanding the program and finishing the set. The additions turn a constrained ranch layout into a more legible arrangement of rooms, court, and access.
Photography courtesy of Buttrick Projects Architecture + Design
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