AURAX

Permitted  |  2025  |  Outer Richmond, San Francisco

Outside In

A 1,000 sq ft ADU that gives a growing family more room to live, carrying their daily rituals across the yard, from courtyard to gym to an ocean view.

The detached ADU rising above the courtyard: a two-story volume with large glass openings, a glass-railed deck and a broad wood soffit

Expecting their first child, the owners needed more room for family life and wanted their home to reflect their love of the outdoors. Placing the ADU at the far end of the yard allowed daily life to extend across the property, connecting the existing house and new building through a shared courtyard.

The courtyard becomes an outdoor room, with a curved wood deck extending from the ADU’s living room, a separate dining deck, and a patch of lawn for the baby to crawl on. The living room opens fully to the deck, while the gym’s doors slide into pockets within the exterior walls, allowing workouts to move outside.

The setbacks become usable spaces too. An outdoor shower occupies the rear setback, and a hot tub sits along the quieter, more private side of the building. Inside, the full program fits within 1,000 square feet.

Upstairs, two bedrooms and two bathrooms provide space for family and guests. The primary bedroom looks toward the Pacific through a corner window, while a glass guardrail keeps the view open from the adjoining vista deck. Accessed directly from the stair landing, the deck can serve as a quiet retreat or a shared gathering space. Guests can come upstairs from the living room for a glass of wine without passing through either bedroom. A large skylight and tall window bring daylight into the stair hall, connecting the two levels around a bright central space.

The project has received its building permit and is ready for construction.

Location
Outer Richmond, San Francisco
Type
Detached accessory dwelling unit
Size
1,000 sq ft of interior program over two levels
Program
Ground floor: living room, kitchenette, powder room, gym. Upper floor: primary bedroom and bath, second bedroom and bath, vista deck. Outside: courtyard deck, outdoor dining, lawn, outdoor shower, hot tub
Status
Building permit approved, 2025; ready for construction
Design
AURAX, Maryam Nassajian
Images
Design renderings
The ADU with its living room glass doors slid fully into pockets in the walls, so the room opens without a frame onto the courtyard deck
The living room doors slide fully into pockets in the walls, opening the room to the courtyard.
The vista deck under the wood soffit, with a view over the neighborhood rooftops to the Pacific Ocean
The stair hall lit by a long skylight and a tall window looking out to the garden
The ADU seen across the courtyard: glass doors to the living space below, the primary bedroom and its deck above, under a broad wood soffit
The gym side of the ADU, with large sliding doors to the rear deck and an outdoor shower beside the slatted gate
Close view of the upper floor: the primary bedroom behind floor-to-ceiling glass, the glass-railed deck and the wood soffit above, with trees reflected in the windows
The side of the ADU, where the upper bedroom wing projects over the garden and the deck sits under the roof, with the gym visible behind the sliding doors below

Drawings

Floor plans

Rendered floor plans. First floor: the existing house to the west (no work), with a new deck and steps down to a courtyard with an outdoor dining deck, a curved wood deck and a lawn, then the ADU with its living room, kitchenette, powder room and stair, a gym opening east to a deck with an outdoor shower, and a hot tub on the north side. Second floor: primary bedroom and bath, the vista deck reached from the stair landing, and a second bedroom and bath.
First and second floors.

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