Crest Guest House / Mork-Ulnes Architects

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Description submitted by the project team. To create a small guest house and rental unit on a sloping property in Marin County, California, Mork-Ulnes architects took the base of an old garage. They built a new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in the same footprint of the old garage.

The building’s pitched roof reflects the slope of the site and provides a tall clerestory window above the cabinetry wall, while a playful twist in the roof provides a dormer window with views over the trees. Cement board was used to provide a fire-resistant coating on the forested hillside, as well as for ease of maintenance. Due to the incredible slope of the hillside, a deck was added to the front of the ADU to add more usable outdoor space and take advantage of California’s mild climate, nearly doubling the usable area of ​​the ADU.

Designing for maximum use of square footage (411 square feet / 38 square meters), flexible programming was implemented: a rolling kitchen island that can be moved in or out when space or utility is needed, and a Murphy bed that can be moved hides in the wall during the day and unfolds at night to sleep. The loft space, with a window to the trees and the living space, is accessed by a ladder that is stored in the wall.

The bathroom is divided into two smaller rooms: a bath/sink and a shower room in forest green tiles with a glass door facing the tree-covered hillside side. The ADU is currently being used by the owners as their vacation cabin while their main house is being renovated.