Branch House / TOLO Architecture : vimarsana.com

© David Hartwell
Demolishing the original ranch allowed us to restore the native Oak grove and return the earth to its natural grade. Working closely with an arborist, we built the new house within the Oaks. Where the building volumes came into close proximity to the Oak root zone we floated the house off the ground by means of concrete piles to protect the native trees.  New coastal live Oak trees and other native plants were added to promote future growth of the ecosystem around the house.
© David Hartwell
The main structure of Branch House is an exposed post and beam structure adjusted to the geometry of the house and comprised of engineered Laminated Veneer Lumber. This area of Southern California is known for its wildfires. In 2008, the Tea Fire destroyed many homes in the surrounding community. As a result, local building codes now prohibit the use of non-fire treated wood as an exterior cladding material. To address these code concerns (and the clients’ desire to live among the trees) the house was built with a wood interior structure and a fire-resistive exterior “armor” made of copper tiles. The copper skin was separated from the wood frame with a rain screen. The size and configuration of the copper tiling were tightly tailored to accommodate the segmented geometry of the room volumes.

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