Crossing Wall House, Santa Barbara Architecture, American Residence, Images
Crossing Wall House in Santa Barbara
Contemporary Corten Steel and Concrete House, California, USA – design by Mobile Office Architects
22 Sep 2016
Crossing Wall House
Design: Mobile Office Architects
Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA
Crossing Wall House

The Crossing Wall House is sited where the Santa Ynez Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean, overlooking the City of Santa Barbara and Channel Islands.

The property’s steep grade necessitated careful site planning and guided the building form as it utilized two narrow existing terraces. The two differing orientations of the terraces are expressed by two geometric grids that come together in the homes central living space and open the home to southern views toward the ocean, islands, and lowlands. The primary living space acts as an indoor-outdoor pavilion, opening fully at the back to an entry courtyard and to a deck at the front with downslope views beyond.
 
The raw corten steel and concrete exterior material palette was developed to create a building that ages with the landscape and respond to localized threats posed by wildfire and termites. MOA completed both design and build work for the project. The project received Santa Barbara County?s Innovative Building Program’s highest tier designation for energy efficiency by utilizing passive solar, thermal mass, passive ventilation, and solar hot water strategies.

Crossing...