Inside Aerie: Opa Architects’ Innovative Approach to Home-Office Design
Immerse yourself in the world of Aerie by Opa Architects, a contemporary home-office retreat that redefines the ideal environment for thinking. Nestled in the heart of San Francisco, this architectural marvel offers a unique blend of clarity and detachment, creating a space that is as inspiring as it is tranquil.
The Aerie is not just a place to work; it’s a sanctuary that hovers above the city, providing a panoramic view that is both breathtaking and thought-provoking. With a daylit ceiling and a design that emphasizes psychological detachment, this project is a testament to Opa Architects‘ innovative approach to meditative architecture.
About Aerie
The Perfect Environment for Thoughtful Work: A Rooftop Home-Office Design
The ideal environment for thinking is a two-fold condition—a physical and psychological space that offers both clarity and detachment. This is precisely what a rooftop home-office design provides. Literally, this rooftop workspace is a place to survey the world, but withdraw from its everyday entanglements. It is a place to gain distance, a retreat from the city and the home alike.
A Sky-High Retreat: The Rooftop Office in San Francisco
This dedicated workspace, a small yet awe-inspiring addition, hovers above San Francisco. While balancing on the existing house, it also shears away from it. Leaning towards the city, it cantilevers over a four-story drop (approximately 40 feet).
Interior Design: Balancing Exposure and Protection
In order to support a rarified atmosphere for observation and reflection, the interior contrasts extreme exposure with finely-tuned protection. To emphasize psychological detachment, the entire ceiling is daylit, open to the sky. The space is suffused with natural illumination. Light from the sun and sky dome passes through several diffusion layers to create a ceiling plane of even, non-directional light. The quality of light continually changes, and the diffusion recalibrates, connecting this ‘interior’ with the annual and daily cycle of the sun’s motion.
Furniture and Views: The Heart of the Rooftop Home-Office Design
A large built-in desk and upholstered chaise longue occupy the leading edge of the space, commanding the 180° panoramic view. Above the primary working surface, the perimeter is kept open to the entirely skylit ceiling plane. A continuous horizontal glass ribbon wraps across four facets of the project, with minimal breaks. The direct visual connection with the expansive view heightens the feeling of immersion mid-air, suspended above the world below.
Photography courtesy of Opa Architects
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- by Matt Watts
