Anne Fougeron in the NY times

 

After  Lisa Koshkarian and Tom Di Francesco had chidren, they realized their 3,600 sq ft home at the top of  Potrero hill presented a major  acoustic challenge. The location of the living room, sandwiched between the children’s bedrooms, made it impossible to entertain after Rex and Zia went to bed.

Disappointed in what the housing market had to offer, Tom and Lisa turned to modern architectural guru Anne Fougeron to marry their love of sleek minimalist design and family-friendly spaces. Taking issue with what she calls the ‘Dwell Light Disease’ signifying modern houses that all end up looking the same, Fougeron made some bold decisions in the design of the Koshkarian and Di Francesco home.

She started by switching the ‘quiet rooms’ to the street side of the house, and moved the entertaining areas to the back towards the garden.

In order to take full advantage of the gorgeous views of downtown San Francisco, Fougeron created a wall of glass, exposing the back rooms of the house. The ‘dollhouse’ effect of this slightly (but unashamedly) exhibitionist design is alleviated by the faceted shape of the glass wall, which give the back of the house its character, and steers clear of the ‘unintentional uniform’ Fougeron decries.

 

Lisa Koshkarian and her children, Rex and Zia

 

 

by Claire Toussaint