House 938 is a detached two-story single-family house on a tight urban site in Oakland, California. The site, initially the backyard of the neighbouring plot, was subdivided, registered, and sold as a small individual plot with an almost impossible building footprint after zoning setbacks. The project was an endless exercise in variance negotiations with the Planning Bureau of the City of Oakland. After 16 months and 4 rounds of submissions, 3 variances were approved - reduce front yard setback by almost two-thirds, remove off-street parking, and ease height limitations at the front of the building. In parallel, it was ensured that the neighbour's right to light, views, and privacy was maintained in a democratic development process.

The asymmetric sloping roof form is a response to the eclectic mix of pitched roof houses of the neighbourhood. It is a singular monolithic form with a weathered oak wood exterior and a gray standing-seam metal roof. The house has a pigmented concrete base and a seamless field of 2” wide vertical wood strips as its exterior. The concrete retaining wall encloses the front yard landscape with steps to the front entrance defined by a gray metal door. The ground floor open plan living area extends into the backyard through a 15’ wide folding sliding door, creating an outdoor living room and allowing its occupants to enjoy the Northern California weather. Stairs to the second-floor bedrooms run along the north face of the house. All spaces are well lit with skylights and windows that are strategically placed to work with opposing requirements of light and privacy.

Design Team: Aurgho Jyoti, Flora Bao, Subhradip Roy
Structural Engineer: Jeffrey Keileh, Jean-Pierre M.Chakar
Status: Project Built 2022