Small Wonder

Architect Drew Hubbell equipped this home with green features like natural ventilation and photovoltaic panels—plus Fibonacci spirals inspired by its mathematician owner

Photo Credit: Arnel Garcia

Green is what the San Diego of 2023 aspires to be: ambitious, growth-oriented, and planet-forward. But you wouldn’t know it from our existing housing crop. Despite new homes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) popping up on seemingly every block, few are considered green builds.

San Diego’s history with green building practices might well have started with James Hubbell and his sculptural, organic-looking structures crafted from local, low-impact materials. The visionary architect is widely considered the original vanguard of the movement here in San Diego. But while Hubbell and his son Drew helped lead California towards more environmentally friendly construction (see “Sticks and Stones”), San Diego overall has been slow to join the green building renaissance.

The city claims its landmark 2022 Climate Action Plan “takes bold steps” towards a more sustainable San Diego. And while that may be true in certain categories, in terms of building, the plan mainly focuses on phasing out natural gas and converting new projects to electric. “Bold” might be a bold choice of words. It’ll take a lot more than swapping out gas stoves for induction burners to get the city where it needs to be.

Irons and Fins, ECOhouse’s current project in Coronado, features overhangs that will help cool the home in summer. BELOW Irons and Fins maximizes space by spreading 11,000 square feet across three floors, including a basement. 

Courtesy of Irons and Fins

“A green building is much more comprehensive,” says Colleen FitzSimons, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the US Green Building Council.

Green building advocates look toward more holistic criteria like LEED certification, a sustainability rating system that awards architectural projects with points for reducing carbon, energy, water use, and waste; utilizing renewable materials; and more. That might include the use of reclaimed wood, rain-catching, and greywater irrigation systems. LEED-inspired architects consider how to place structures in such a way that they gain more sun for natural heating, or they implement passive cooling systems to keep interior temps low with less energy. Projects need to meet a minimum environmental threshold to qualify as LEED-certified, with additional tiers for higher-scoring buildings, from silver through platinum.

Irons and Fins maximizes space by spreading 11,000 square feet across three floors, including a basement

 

The city of San Diego maintains several LEED-certified buildings—but don’t be surprised if none of them are on your residential block. Because green projects cost more upfront to construct but have reduced maintenance costs over time, sustainable approaches are often used for big, industrial buildings, says Lauren Cook, executive director of the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

In SD county, that includes a LEED gold–certified senior center, a silver-certified recreation center, and three fire stations ranging from silver to gold. Snapdragon Stadium and many structures at UCSD also employ green building approaches, because they are “a long-term investment for [institutions] to save money,” Cook adds.

In the residential realm, Cook concedes, green buildings are generally going to be luxury homes.

FitzSimons echoes this, adding, “People who can afford to design and build their own home typically have more resources”—meaning that they can shoulder the weightier construction costs sometimes associated with greener builds.

ADUs, like this one designed by Prismática, are secondary housing units built on a single- family residential lot

 

And because developers and homeowners may not be cognizant of the money they can save long-term with tactics like solar power and natural heating, they sometimes dismiss greener building methods off-the-bat. “There’s this perceived idea that it’s going to cost more, and so a lot of developers won’t go the extra steps beyond the Green Building Code,” FitzSimons emphasizes. (The California Green Building Standards Code is the first-in-the-nation mandatory green building code, which San Diego builders must abide by. In other parts of the state, even more strict regulations are in place.)Nevertheless, the city of San Diego is increasingly committed to investing in sustainable construction. As of April 2022, San Diego has its own chief sustainability officer in Shelby Rust Busó, who has worked with the US Green Building Council, the national entity that awards LEED certifications. According to Sustainability and Mobility Department director Alyssa Muto, Busó will “lead the city’s work on the long-term planning and implementation for decarbonizing buildings and neighborhoods.”“I definitely am super excited about where we’re heading, but, at the moment, we’re not there,” FitzSimons says. But, she continues, larger policies from the county of San Diego and the San Diego Association of Governments are “going to help push our region to be a forerunner in green building.”As it stands, San Diego does have its share of architects and firms helping move the city toward a greener future. That includes Elizabeth J. Carmichael, owner and principal architect of ECOhouse and president of the San Diego Green Building Council. Though 95 percent of her clients are developers, she has seen the shift in priorities from businesses and homeowners alike.

Prismática Design Shower LEED Home Design Climate Change San Diego

 

“We get clients that really want to do as much sustainability as possible,” Carmichael says. “They come in and tell me, ‘We want to be green. We want to make it sustainable.’ Whereas before … we were kind of pushing our philosophy on the client. Now it’s almost the opposite.”ECOhouse has a current project in Coronado that is emblematic of their holistic approach to integrating sustainability and functional design. Nicknamed “Irons and Fins,” the house encompasses 11,000 square feet. Rather than building out, however, the blueprint saves space by moving up (and down) with a three-story floor plan, including a basement.The luxury property also boasts a coveted list of green amenities and functionality, with a roof entirely covered in solar panels, alongside solar water heating and a separate solar-powered battery should going off the grid ever be necessary. The house is outfitted with two giant tanks for rainwater harvesting, and the LED-efficient residence also benefits from a basement design with a passive cooling system, where sliders open up to bring in cool air which passes to the first floor.The top floor features a similar system for hot air to escape. South-facing with overhangs, the house is designed to capture the sun in the winter for passive heating, while the overhangs protect and cool during the heat of the summer. Two-hundred-year-old juniper trees that were harvested while preparing the property for the build were later thrown in a kiln and are now being used to create furniture and fixtures for the new home.

But what about building green with more modest funds? American Institute of Architects award–winning, Barrio Logan– based architecture firm Prismática may have some answers. “We try to make the building as efficient as possible,” says co-founder and principal architect Jesús Fernando Limón.

And while clients’ options for sustainable techniques vary according to their budget, “the biggest things you can do that are accessible to everyone are the types of things that we do,” adds Pristmática co-founder José F. “Pancho” García. That includes strategically maximizing natural light, employing cross-ventilation, and using construction tactics that produce less waste.

Prismática equipped this ADU with passive cooling and rainwater- catching systems. The massive windows invite in natural light, reducing daily energy use

 

This year, the firm finished an ADU with energy-efficient elements in Oak Park. It opens up to a lush courtyard that has the capacity for passive cooling, ample natural light sources, and rainwater-catching to irrigate the garden.

Prismática wants to offer these sustainable techniques all over the county and beyond. They work across San Diego from North County to Paradise Hills, with designs on projects in our Baja backyard of Tijuana, where García calls home.

Another way to move towards sustainability while saving cash is to think small. Density and urban infill—maximizing the residential or commercial potential of a plot of land—can help contain urban sprawl and reduce the amount of travel required to access goods and services, preserving resources and natural spaces.

“Micro units are hot,” Cook quips. They’re also a way to increase density in combination with de-carbonization and other targets of green proponents. National City’s Parco, for example, designed by the architects at Miller Hull Partnership, is a mixed-use building spanning 131,000 square feet with energy-efficient micro units. The development achieved a carbon offset of 950 tons, the equivalent of more than 1,900 trips between San Diego and Seattle (where Miller Hull calls home). Not a bad start.

San Diego still has a ways to go in hitting the goals imposed not only by the city but by the culture of its residents. The city’s dwellers are already demanding more bike lanes and public transit. We’re ready for more energy-efficient ways to live our lives, including in the places we call home.“There are a lot of people really active and interested in getting us to where we want to be, climate-wise, equity-wise, [and] health-wise,” FitzSimons says.

San Diego may not be leading the green building charge, but there are plenty of people here working to push the city in a more sustainable direction. The green housing wave is upon us. You just have to squint a little harder to see it around here.

Smoketree Ranch by Hubbell Architecture

Photo Credit: Glyn Jones

Straw houses get a bad rap. If nursery rhymes are to be believed, folks in them are a heavy breath away from being a wolf’s dinner. But according to architect Drew Hubbell, the piggy in his straw abode would’ve been just fine—and impressed the LEED certification panel while he was at it.“Straw bale homes have been around for over 120 years,” Drew explains. “They’re one of the most green building technologies you can use.”

Straw is a byproduct from the farming of wheat, rice, and barley. While straw has long served as insulation between stone masonry, straw bales—the big blocks of scratchy hay that city slickers mostly see at pumpkin patches—became a primary building material in Kansas a little over a century ago. Homebuilders would simply stack the bales and slather plaster over them to create walls.

Each Hubbell project carries a touch of whimsy

Photo Credit: Arnel Garcia

A few decades back, the tech spread to the American southwest. Hubbell helped pioneer its usage in California, securing the first-ever permits for straw bale buildings in both San Diego and LA counties. He and his team have now constructed more than 40 straw structures, often sourcing their material from Imperial Valley wheat farms, which have historically burned their excess hay.T

hey use the time-honored straw-and-plaster method while adding a wood or steel frame to ensure the buildings withstand California earthquakes (and maybe the occasional huffing, puffing wolf). Even with the use of a frame, straw bale structures utilize 50 to 60 percent less lumber than conventionally constructed buildings. The bales keep those inside warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and, because straw is an annually renewable waste material, it’s inexpensive and “super sustainable,” Drew says.

As the son of legendary artist and longtime environmentally minded builder James Hubbell, Drew considers green strategies to be rooted in his DNA. Known for his “Hobbit houses”—undulating, cave-like structures that resemble Lord of the Rings set pieces—James Hubbell became renowned for sourcing materials from the local environment to create work that honors and respects that landscape.

Ilan-Lael buildings made from sustainable foam core sandwich panels

Photo Credit: John Durant

“My parents practiced sustainability in the 1970s and ’80s, before it became a popular thing,” Drew says. Growing up on the property that is now Ilan-Lael, a 10-acre Hubbell family compound just outside of Santa Ysabel, Drew and his brothers helped erect structures using adobe bricks and planks of cedar milled from local trees. The family grew their own produce and composted the scraps.

So when Drew and his father set out to start an architecture firm in 1995, it was only natural to focus their work on green techniques. But they ran into bureaucratic barriers: The city and county of San Diego were reluctant to issue permits for approaches they considered new and untested. Rather than fall back on less earth-friendly methods, the Hubbells went to bat for technologies like straw bale structures, putting together a source book that detailed state laws authorizing the approach and addressing common concerns.“They have [taken the use of] natural materials, particularly straw bales, from something that’s unheard of to something that’s considered a viable option,” emphasizes Colleen FitzSimons, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the US Green Building Council.

The Hubbells’ mixed-use Friends Center was designed to showcase innovative green building techniques

Photo Credit: Drew Hubbell

As government institutions became more attentive to issues like climate change, San Diego County instituted the Green Building Program, which incentivizes builders to conserve resources, energy, and water in their projects. In 2000, a Hubbell-designed commercial residence close to Mount Woodson became the first building permitted under the program.

More than 20 years later, Hubbell & Hubbell remains among the most sought-after green building firms in the county—and the duo have helped pave the way for fellows in the field. “They are constantly supporting and cultivating other architects and builders who are interested in this work,” FitzSimons says. She points to local straw bale builders like Simple Construct Homes, noting, “I don’t think that firm would be around if it weren’t for what Hubbell & Hubbell have done.”The Hubbells have found such success, perhaps, because their work may resonate even with clients whose primary concerns are aesthetics or function over sustainability. Their approach is holistic: “We respect the earth and the environment,” Drew says, “but also the clients and the site we’re designing for. Most of our projects don’t have a familiar design style because they grow from the [landscape] and the clients’ needs.”

The use of rice straw ensured excellent insulation for the nuns of Deer Park Monastery

Photo Credit: Arnel Garcia

For example, at Deer Park Monastery, a Buddhist institution just north of Escondido, Drew and his team built three different structures totalling 4,500 square feet in 2016. Formerly, the monastery’s nuns slept in small wooden shacks. “They would freeze in the winter and sweat in the summer,” Drew recalls, so insulation became a priority. With the help of the nuns and other community members, the firm utilized rice straw, adobe, clay plaster, and reclaimed wood to craft Spanish hacienda– style buildings around a central courtyard. The result was a budget-friendly, comfortable living space that still allowed the nuns ample access to nature.

The firm’s current residential project gets its clients even closer to the landscape—rather than hauling rocks off the homeowners’ property to build, Drew and his team are making a massive boulder a focal point of the house’s interior, adding a sleeping nook atop the rock. The surrounding walls consist of insulated concrete form, a virtually indestructible material made by mixing recycled Styrofoam with cement.

There’s no common thread that weaves through every Hubbell & Hubbell project, it’s true. But each building carries hints of the organic whimsy familiar to James Hubbell’s famous Hobbit houses, and this impulse—to invite the earth in; to prompt us to notice its power and beauty; to ask us all to coexist—may be what defines them.

Courtesy of Boho on a Budget

I recently cried in an Ikea.

It wasn’t my finest moment, fighting tears while a kindergartener bounced on a display mattress two feet away. My girlfriend and I are moving in together for the first time, and I found myself feeling unexpectedly overwhelmed—obviously, love conquers all, but combining two peoples’ lives into a 680-square-foot one-bedroom (and making it look as cool as we are) is tough.

And as much as I’d like to call up whoever put a ball pit in Cara Delevigne’s house and ask them to turn our place into a miniature version of the revamped Lafayette Hotel, that’s not exactly in our budget. (Also, we’re renting.) So I did the next best thing: I tapped four local interior designers for their best storage solutions, favorite renter-friendly décor hacks, and top tips for giving tight spaces personality on a dime.

Here’s their advice for small-space decorating on a budget in San Diego.

Courtesy of Oscar Bravo

Identify Your Personal Taste & Buy Accordingly

“When someone first starts designing their place and they don’t really know what their style is, they jump into what the trends are,” says interior designer Nicola Hopwood. “They go on social media and do what everybody else is doing. But if they just follow trends, it’s not going to feel like home.”

She notes that clues to what you genuinely love can be found close at hand: Peek into your closet to learn what colors you’re drawn to. Consider your hobbies and lifestyle to figure out what functions your furniture and décor need to serve. (If you entertain often, for example, you’ll need more seating than someone who usually meets their friends for lunch.)

Ultimately, you’ll save money by choosing not to keep up with the trend cycle and instead filling your space with items you truly love—which requires patience and time. “[It’s] not going to happen in a two-day shopping spree,” Hopwood says. “Everything you buy, no matter how big or small, is like a puzzle piece that contributes to your unique home.

”And if you (like me) are worried that simply going with your gut will result in a houseful of items that don’t play well together, Hopwood has an easy tip for ensuring your collection doesn’t get too eclectic: “Go in with a color palette. Use that as a guide when you’re picking things, and it will all end up coming together.”

Remember that items don’t have to be an exact color match—in fact, a green-and-orange rug, for example, looks best set against throw pillows in slightly lighter or darker shades.

Courtesy of Nicola Hopwood

Spend Where It Counts

The designers I spoke to all said the same thing: Invest in your sleep. “The right mattress is something you’re going to have for years,” says local interior designer Elizabeth Aaron. Once you find your ideal one (Firm or soft? Cozy or cooling?), “you better buy a mattress protector,” Aaron continues. While it may seem like an unnecessary purchase, it can dramatically expand the life of your mattress.

Spend a little more outfitting your bed, too. “You can’t really find nice linen bedding for cheap,” cautions Jordan Miranda, founder of affordable design firm Boho on a Budget.

Follow similar guidelines for anything that you’re going to be spending a lot of time curled up on, like couches and chairs (including desk chairs). “You want to avoid buying cheaply made furniture for these times, because you’ll need to replace them multiple times in the lifespan of better-quality furniture,” Hopwood says. “Over time, you’ll end up spending more money.”

You can save on less-functional décor pieces. “You don’t have to spend a bazillion dollars on an area rug you’ll love,” Aaron says. She recommends the brand Surya for a range of budget-friendly rug options. When searching for art, wall hangings, coffee table books, and other fun details, explore local boutiques like Pigment, Botanica Home and Garden, and Solo for relatively affordable pieces that add personality and depth.

Courtesy of Boho on a Budget

Consider Construction

Even when it comes to budget furniture, not all couches are created equal. “Any upholstery, you want to make sure you’re getting performance fabric,” Aaron says. “It’s a hundred percent polyester, and it’s bulletproof”—unlike linen textiles that show stains and pet scratches.

Try to determine what’s going on under the surface of potential buys. More durable couches and chairs are constructed with high-density foam. “As much as you think you want a squishy sofa, the sheet foam that’s not high-density is going to break down and you’re going to be left with a lumpy sofa,” Aaron continues.

Similarly, when it comes to items like dining tables and nightstands, “look for plywood frames as opposed to particle board,” Aaron suggests. “Particle board is flimsy, and it’s going to disintegrate on you.

”When shopping on resale sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp, hunt for deals on solid-wood furniture. Since low-cost “wooden” furniture tends to be veneered, it doesn’t stand up well to spills or condensation-covered glasses, which will cause the veneer to peel or warp.

Real wood, on the other hand, will stand the test of time—budget-friendly interior decorator Oscar Bravo purchased a friend’s solid-wood dining table for $40 more than 20 years ago and “it’s still in perfect condition,” he says. If you find a sturdy piece but don’t love the look, remember that you can sand and stain it and replace elements like drawer pulls to help it match your style.

Courtesy of Nicola Hopwood

Alter the Architecture (Without Losing Your Security Deposit)

There are plenty of simple tricks to make teacup-sized spaces feel grander: A large mirror (though not too big, Hopwood cautions, since a glut of oversized mirrors sometimes make small rooms “feel like a gym”) can create the illusion of more space. And floor-to-ceiling curtains, Hopwood adds, help ceilings appear taller.

If you’re up for a bigger project, Bravo says that you can transform a cookie-cutter apartment with elements like peel-and-stick molding—especially if your lease allows you to paint. You can purchase relatively inexpensive kits designed for DIY wainscoting, paneling, tiling, or molding. When put up and painted over, they look like a built-in detail.

Scones can serve as a softer source of light than overhead bulbs while making your space appear customized (and expensive!). To avoid any tricky hard-wiring, look for battery-operated wall sconces, or make your own by attaching remote-control puck lights to a bulb base adapter.

Courtesy of Elizabeth Aaron

Avoid Clutter, Including the Sneaky Kind

Apartment living requires a certain minimalist sensibility—in a 600- or 700-square-foot space, there’s simply not much room for stuff. But according to the designers, you can Marie Kondo everything you own and still feel like you’re surrounded by clutter if your furniture is too large or attention-grabbing.“The goal is to show more of the floor, which creates [the impression of] more space,” Hopwood says. Floating bookshelves and coffee tables with slim legs, for example, will make rooms feel more open.

Miranda says that you can also reduce clutter by sourcing furniture that plays double-duty. A storage bench at the foot of your bed, for example, can hold games and blankets while bringing in additional seating.

Finally, ensure surfaces don’t look too busy. You can keep everyday essentials off of tables and counters by “[bringing] in worker baskets and visually appealing storage pieces,” Hopwood says, adding that lesser-used items can lurk in underbed bins, cloaked by a floaty bedskirt. (“A skirt that is very structured and [made from] a thick material still brings that element of bulk,” she explains.)

Courtesy of Boho on a Budget

Size Matters

You’ve probably seen photos online of eclectic gallery walls packed with playful art of different shapes and sizes. They’re super cute—but not ideal for small spaces. “They tend to look a bit cluttered, especially in smaller floor plans,” Bravo explains. While it may seem counterintuitive, large-scale, poster-sized art can make your space feel more expansive.

Websites like Drool, PSTR Studio, and The Poster Club offer affordable, funky prints with more of a point-of-view than your old Pulp Fiction poster from college. Or get even more creative: In his own home, Bravo wallpapered the inside of three mega-sized frames. “It’s really a statement, and it looks expensive because of the size,” he adds.

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So, you’ve deep-cleaned your house in the spirit of spring, brought that pothos back from the brink (we’ve all been there), and dropped off that box of mystery novels and old camping gear at the donation center…but your crib is still feeling a little blah. Revitalize your home with updated furnishings or fresh accents to make your dwelling a relaxing space to chill after work and an envy-inducing spot for entertaining.

We’ve highlighted the best of San Diego’s decor scene to help you bring your Pinterest board vision to life. These 10 local shops offer unique furniture and distinctive decor.

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Home + Hound

This North Park shop proves that chic furnishings and four-legged friends can live together in harmony. Home + Hound provides boho-inspired textiles, furniture, decor, and dishware, plus anything you could want for your pup, like stylish bandanas and leashes and comfy dog beds. Well-behaved pets are welcome in-store, so you and Rover can pick out your new favorite art print together.

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Le Dimora

Creating your dream space can be overwhelming, so let the pros take over. Le Dimora’s award-winning designers will help you refresh one room or your entire home with their thoughtful eye and luxurious collection of home furnishings and accessories, available at their Pacific Highlands Ranch showroom. From new Mediterranean to modern farmhouse, they offer designs to fit every vibe.

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Bench Home

This curated store, tucked away in the Kensington neighborhood, will become your go-to for charming home accents, especially for the kitchen and bath. Bench Home owner Helen Bonar gathers inspiration from her travels and features many vendors from outside the states. You’ll spot hand-painted bowls, gold-hued barware, and other home accoutrement, including many budget-friendly options.

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Bixby & Ball

Few design stores encapsulate coastal chic quite like Bixby & Ball—natural materials and breezy, neutral colors rule at the company’s two Solana Beach outposts. Transform your home into a seaside oasis with plush sofas, comfortable rugs, and unique lighting options (picture wicker lamps and birdcage-like chandeliers).

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Rustic Home

Rustic Home has manufactured furniture from their San Marcos showroom for more than three decades. Combed every virtual homeware emporium and San Diego warehouse and still can’t find the dining room table in your mind’s eye? Customize the size, stain, and other features of your furnishings to transform your abode into a space only you could dream up.

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Pigment

What began as a gallery to showcase local artists turned into the best place in town to grab beautiful plants and eye-catching furniture pieces. Pigment’s three locations (in North Park, Del Mar, and Liberty Station) offer a fantastic selection of art and furnishings, much of it crafted by the most creative minds in San Diego. Owners Chad Anglin and Amy Paul quip that “buying for Pigment is a little like treasure hunting,” and shopping here is similar. Every trip inside this store includes the potential to find something incredible.

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Hold It Contemporary Home

You won’t find anything for sale on this company’s site—after all, how can you purchase a chair without sitting on it first? Their Mission Valley showroom lets you kick your feet up on your new coffee table, ensure the rug color is blue, not gray, and visualize your revamped space without the guesswork. Their expert consultants are happy to help you choose between cherry and mahogany and handle details like ordering and delivery.

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Kern & Company

It’s no surprise Kern & Company is among the mainstays in Solana Beach’s Cedros Design District. For almost thirty years, the design destination has served as a one-stop shop for all things interiors, from high-quality furniture and bedding to window treatments and bespoke cabinetry—plus professional decorating services to help you bring it all together.

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Premium Decor San Diego

Premium Decor works with fellow local businesses to offer custom-made sofas, sectionals, beds, and other furniture at accessible prices. Whether you’d like them to craft an exact replica of your grandpa’s old chair or you simply feel really passionate about the correct level of couch cushion firmness, the Pacific Beach–based company will construct the perfect piece to fit your needs.

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D3 Home Modern Furniture

At this Little Italy storefront, comfort meets style (so you don’t end up with a gorgeous living room couch that no one wants to relax on). D3 Home vends sleek, modern furniture for every room in the house, including innovative and ultra-functional pieces like a sofa that converts into—wait for it—bunk beds.

Two-story windows frame the ocean view in the great room.

Photo Credit: James Brady

You can build your dream house, but you can’t build your dream view. So when a London-based family with San Diego roots started its search for a vacation home in La Jolla, it kept one thing in mind: potential.

In 2013, the family purchased a property on Mount Soledad, a 1960s home with a pool and a guest house. The foundation was failing. The pool had seen better days. But the sweeping view of the Pacific was priceless.

The owners interviewed a half dozen architects before landing on Mark A Silva (who doesn’t punctuate his name). They gave him a design brief: number of bedrooms and bathrooms, key features—and all of their trust.

The design process was done almost entirely remotely. Silva frequented the site until he was intimately familiar with the lot size, its orientation and the levels of privacy throughout. He memorized the view. Walked the terrain. Inhaled the salty breeze. Traced the sun’s path. And started to sketch.

The owners understood Silva’s concept when it was just lines on paper. He presented an angular, contemporary home, brimming with natural light, multiple indoor-outdoor living spaces, and floor-to-ceiling windows that did the ocean view justice.

Early in the process, the family dubbed its vacation home Can Deus: “House of the Gods.” Construction was completed in 2016. The steps that wind through the backyard, and the retaining walls that line them, are the only original element.

The backyard steps are the only original element on the property.

Photo Credit: James Brady

Inside the home, a light-wood ceiling soars toward a wall of windows, showing off an infinite sky where it collides with the blue-green of the ocean. Outside, lush landscaping frames the steps as they descend toward the lowest point of the property, home to a new pool and guest house.

As you walk back up the steps and face the back of the home, the lines of the roof “are like two arms embracing you,” says Silva.

“The outcome of a project very clearly shows: How much did you care?” says Silva. “It’s not just doing the design, plans, and permit. It has so much more meaning to me.”

As he reminisces on the Can Deus project, Silva points to eight design elements—from the cantilever deck that captures an unexpected view to the natural light that pours in through skylights—that combine to form a home fit for the gods.

A row of skylights illuminates the south stone wall.

Photo Credit: James Brady

Organic Architecture

Coined by the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright, organic architecture is a design principle in which structures are inspired by, and built into, their environment. Those who adhere to the principle first consider a lot’s features: sun, wind, orientation, existing slopes, and shapes. Then, they factor in the homeowners: their preferred aesthetic, must-haves, lifestyle. Finally, they note any limitations, like height restrictions. Massage all that together, and the design will evolve on its own. “It’s functional sculpture,” Silva says.

Can Deus Exterior SDM 02-23

Photo Credit: James Brady

Aesthetic

The home’s blend of metal, glass, wood, and concrete was Silva’s directive, influenced by the owners’ vision. They had requested an aesthetic that was, in their words, “sludgy,” a nod to the moody weather in their native London. Interior designer Anita Dawson collaborated with Silva and the owners to fulfill that vision, using statement pieces—a motorcycle in the great room, a custom wood record player, a neon sign from an English artist—to establish a California vibe with a splash of London.

Front Door

The home’s façade is intentionally “mild mannered,” says Silva. “More of a sleeper,” merely hinting at what’s inside. Initially, it was even more so. Silva and the homeowners had settled on and installed a simpler front door. Later on, Silva rediscovered his original door designs. On a whim, he emailed them to the homeowner, saying, “[C]oulda, woulda, shoulda.” A nearly immediate response came through: “Let’s do it.”

Silva collaborated with a wood craftsman and a metal artist to bring his vision to life. The door’s slab is sandblasted redwood; the harder grain remains and softer grain is stripped away, like a carving dictated by the tree itself.

The door swings open on a pivot hinge to reveal nearly the entire view. Can Deus’s wedge shape mimics that of a telescope—its walls angle out at nine degrees, and the roof angles up at nine degrees, too. The effect draws the eye both up and out before you even step inside.

Can Deus Front Door SDM 02-23

Photo Credit: James Brady

Fireplace

To create distinction between the kitchen and the great room, Silva designed a sculptural fireplace. It’s a piece that adds warmth, both visually and literally; clad in copper, the wood-burning fireplace stretches from the first floor through the second-story loft. This was one of the first design elements to be finalized, and its concrete base was poured at the same time as the building foundation.

Pond

A tiny pond greets guests by the front entrance, while the back deck houses a larger pond with stocky koi. The initial plan was to run a pond right through the house, along the south interior wall, under the skylights. Since Can Deus is a vacation home, concerns about the upkeep and the potential for fish fiascos nixed that idea. Now, says Silva, the owners wish they had gone for it. They’re in town more often than they’d anticipated, and the homeowners even opened an office locally to have additional cause to visit.

Can Deus Bedroom SDM 02-23

Photo Credit: James Brady

Natural Light

Southern California’s constant sunshine is a welcome deviation from rainy London. While designing, Silva harnessed natural light as much as possible. Afternoon sun flows through the great room’s western-facing windows. (The homeowners’ cat splays out in the patches of sun in between jaunts through the garden.) A row of skylights on the home’s south side runs from interior to exterior, illuminating the south stone wall.

Silva arranged the bedrooms on the north side of the home and the game room and garage on the south. In the bedrooms and bathrooms, Silva incorporated extra high windows. Flush to the ceiling and often in a corner, these windows invite sunlight in while maintaining privacy.

The owners’ extensive art collection is on display on the second story. To ensure each piece is well lit without incurring sun damage, Silva installed a multi-layer skylight. One on the roof, with a pane of glass in a hallway floor. Light travels freely through two stories, brightening both at once.

Can Deus Interior SDM 02-23

Photo Credit: James Brady

Cantilever Deck

When Silva first explored the site, he had a hunch that there might be an untapped view. He returned with an A-frame ladder, climbed to the top, held a camera up high, and snapped a photo. He was right. From the right height and angle, the property boasts a southern view: Mission Beach, the curve of the shoreline down to Point Loma, the islands off of Mexico, and beyond.

One of the homeowners is an avid surfer who grew up in Mission Beach. When he was a teen, his family moved to London, and he’s lived there since. Now, from the tip of the cantilever deck off the primary bedroom, he can see where he grew up. A long, low window on the room’s south wall also frames the Mission Beach view, making it visible from the bed.

Mark A Silva Can Deus SDM 02-23

Photo Credit: James Brady

Landscaping

When the property was purchased, three towering pine trees were removed due to overgrown roots. Today, the drought-friendly landscaping brings together some of the rarest species in San Diego. Initially installed by David McCullough of McCullough Landscape Architecture, the plants are now tenderly maintained by Paul Lough.

In the front yard, a jacaranda shades Mexican birds of paradise, and wispy feather grass lines the sidewalk. Throughout both front and back yards, the trained eye will spot variegated aloe (one regular, one reversed) and 25 species of agave.

The garden, which resembles a postage stamp from above, regularly lures hummingbirds. It offers everything from plump lemons to bay laurel, rosemary, and mint. A strawberry tree by the guest house scatters its edible fruit; it’s juicy, studded with seeds, reminiscent of a peach.