
Extension | 01
Our client tasked us with designing an addition to a suburban ranch house that would contain a swim spa and home gym.
Their single directive: Nothing else on or in the house was to be touched.



Our solution was inspired by modernist extensions to centuries-old historic buildings in Europe. We created a dramatic angular glass volume clad in weathered cedar, riffing off the imagery of yard fences commonly found in Los Altos.
The cedar vertical siding served as a rainscreen, as a cladding system, and as a privacy screen covering the windows facing a neighboring residence. The street-facing horizontal window was specifically designed to be parallel to the clients’ eye level when on the indoor treadmill.
The addition's interiors are clad with marine-grade Douglas Fir plywood, with linear LED lighting recessed along the perimeter to wash the walls with illumination and highlight the plywood grain.

Details
Location: Los Altos, California
Completion: 2015
Photography: David Wakely
Original Architect: unknown, 1966
Architecture & Interiors:
Chad DeWitt : Project Designer
Rusty Murphy: Project Designer
Alice Hwang: Project Architect
Structural Engineer: Cres Engineering
Builder: Jesse Ososki Art
Media
ArchDaily, USA Los Altos Poolhouse / Framestudio
Dezeen, UK Framestudio uses cedar and plywood for Los Altos Poolhouse in Northern California
Dwell, USA Cling to Summer a Little Longer at This Indoor Oasis
Dwell, USA 15 Modern Additions to Traditional Homes
California Home + Design, USA The Poolhouse
Haus+Wellness, Germany, Kostprobe, Perfekte Symbiose