GOLDEN HILL ELEVEN
Golden Hill, San Diego, California - 11 Residential Attached Units
Gold Nugget Award of Merit “Best On-The-Boards Multi-Family” Pacific Coast Builders Conference
This project consists of eleven, three story attached townhomes located on a challenging hillside urban in-fill property. The steep site is crisscrossed with utility and drainage easements limiting the build-able area. Through careful positioning of the buildings along with terraced Landscaping of the easements, the project provides a successful transition from the street and a sense of community. The concept was to provide each home with individual privacy and a sense of home ownership.
Each home, with approximately 1,700 s.f., has a two car garage on the lower level with the entry, living/dining and kitchen at level two and a circulation stair leading either up or down to the bedrooms. The floor to ceiling windows at the living space is directed to capture views while providing daylight and solar comfort. The architecture is contemporary modern in form with white stucco massing, Rheinzink metal siding, frosted glass garage doors and aluminum framed windows and doors. Long, overhangs provide shade control and directional form.
This townhome project utilizes solar energy building strategies consisting of photo-voltaic roof panels to offset the energy demand, sensitive site design, high efficient equipment, low-E tinted glass, building orientation as well as other forms of sustainable building elements to reduce the impact on the site and the environment.
The design challenge was to create eleven private homes on a steep hillside property that is dissected with existing utility easements while providing a feeling of individuality and neighborhood.
The exterior architecture blends contemporary style with natural elements to create a sense of the structure and landscape blending together. The homes have been designed with plenty of eco-friendly and energy-saving features, including dual-zone air conditioning and tankless water heaters. Homes are also solar ready and come plumbed for a full-home water filtration system.
The open kitchen offers residents generous storage and stylish finishes, from the standard quartz countertops to stainless steel appliances. A large island also comes standard and houses the microwave to free up valuable counter space. The horizontal window over the sink is a popular touch and indicative of the thought that went into the home’s overall look. San Diego-based H2 | Hawkins + Hawkins Architects, Inc., won a Gold Nugget Award of Merit from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference for its design.
Ten of the residences include a full master suite on the top floor, with a generous master bedroom, bath and walk-in closet to provide the ultimate private retreat for homeowners. Other floor plans include the master suite plus a secondary bedroom and bath on the top level, but all master bedrooms include a balcony with a fireplace to enjoy the surrounding canyon views.
Depending on the floor plan, the first level consists of a den or office space, as shown here, or a guest bedroom and bath suite. With the first level separated from the master bedroom on the third level, both homeowner and guests have added privacy. Each home comes with an attached two-car garage on the first level, a valuable and hard-to-find amenity for the area.
The open concept of the living space on the second level perfectly suits the urban professional lifestyle by providing plenty of space to entertain. The kitchen, dining and living spaces flow easily from one to the other, and sleek, vertical windows provide plenty of natural light. All floor plans include at least one second-level balcony, and some plans have the main entry on the second level.
The living space on the second floor takes full advantage of all of that California sunshine with high ceilings to reflect the natural light. There’s plenty of room to create more intimate seating and lounging areas, and a half-bath provides extra convenience for when guests are over. Hardwood floors throughout help unify the space and add warmth to the contemporary design.