Stacked boxes wrapped in terracotta and glass make up this house near San Francisco, which US studio EYRC Architects has designed to serve as a "tranquil retreat from urban life" for an entrepreneur.

The Spring Road house is located on a forested, hilltop property in Ross, a small town in Marin County. The residence offers sweeping vistas of the surrounding landscape, including Mount Tamalpais and the San Francisco Bay.

The home was created for a successful entrepreneur, who for years had searched for the ideal spot to build a new home. The client found the features he had long been hunting for in the Marin County property.

"The site was surrounded by California oaks and old-growth redwoods, offering total privacy," said EYRC Architects in a project statement. "And from this lofty perch, the fog would roll in and never reach him."
The client, a design lover, wanted a home that merged modernism with a rustic sensibility.
In response, the team composed a series of stacked boxes, parts of which cantilever over the site. Proportions were carefully calibrated, as was the siting of the residence.

"Ascending a redwood-lined driveway, one arrives at the house where the architecture serves as backdrop and frame to the idyllic setting, a tranquil retreat from urban life," said the team.

Facades are wrapped in terracotta clay tiles, which help the home blend with the natural surroundings. Fascias made of dark grey titanium zinc contrast w...