Program: The architect aimed to convert the former 8-by-11-foot boiler room of a commercial laundry to a guesthouse and potential full-time residence.

Location: San Francisco’s Mission District

Solution: Because of a small interior footprint, the architect changed the volumetric dimensions by increasing the height of the building from 12 to 17 feet and nesting living areas vertically. Overlapping rooms allow a 10-foot-high ceiling in the main living area and a 7-foot-high kitchen on the ground floor. Sunlight illuminates the core of the building thanks to an operable skylight above a glass footbridge, which connects the mezzanine bathroom level to the bedroom loft. The architect activated spaces by building storage into furnishings, such as a hidden compartment for shoes beneath the stair landing and a hinged wraparound headboard that opens to a cabinet. Directly above the kitchen is a 5-foot-wide closet and bureau built into mezzanine wall. The architect completed the space with a sanded acrylic tabletop on a steel base and solid walnut coffee table that doubles as a stool and storage compartment.

Construction and materials: Clad in sheet metal and composition shingles, the wood-framed upper addition sits atop the exposed original brick structure.

Designer:
Azevedo Design
Christi Azevedo
1477 15th St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
www.christiazevedo.com