Architects: Butler Armsden Architects
Project: Sonoma Retreat
Location: Sonoma, California, United States
Photography: Joe Fletcher
Text by Butler Armsden Architects
This AIA award-winning Sonoma retreat reinterprets the wonderful spaces of the original Spanish haciendas of Mission-Era California using a truly modern vocabulary. Situated in the Valley of the Moon between the historic Sonoma Plaza to the southeast and Jack London’s former estate to the west, this house adopts the courtyard model popularized in the early architecture of the area.
Earning a LEED Silver designation, the house uses the oldest of methods to conserve energy through overhangs and siting to capture the prevalent valley breezes, while also utilizing the latest in technology to generate electricity and hot water. For the owners, a couple with young children, the house will serve as a sustainable family retreat for decades to come.