Firewise Hillside House

Santa Barbara, CA

AXIS HOUSE

A spectacular hideaway nestled amidst the Santa Ynez Mountains and the stunning Pacific Ocean, situated to the north of Santa Barbara. The architects took this project on with three goals in mind: design a Resilient Firewise home, minimize the impact on the site with a light footprint, and maximize the efficiency of material use thereby reducing cost and increasing speed and ease of construction.  As opposed to the traditional method of designing and then determining construction logistics and choosing building materials, the architects first decided what materials would be used and how they wanted to the home to perform against wild fires,  and then created a design that supported these criteria. 

The result is inspiring and ingenious. In lieu of excessive grading and site work, the architects carved the space for the ground floor into the existing hillside, providing a shaded garden space with a water element that also serves the purpose of clearing a perimeter around the first floor, protecting it from the increasingly common wildfires in southern California. The second floor is wrapped with perforated metal panels and foldable door elements, shutting itself off in case of a wildfire.