Sunset Homes: Architect Roger Lee | built in Berkeley, California

The soft flood of balanced light that is an integral part of this long, narrow house makes it an excellent example of how to use daylight in a hillside home (or any other for that matter).

From the beginning the owners and architect Lee knew that daylight would play an important part in the design of the house.

They wanted, of course, to take ad- vantage of a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay (the site is in Berkeley), but they realized that the glare of sky, water, and afternoon sun would be a problem.

To reduce the glare on the view side, the roof slopes down like a vizor outside the windows, and the glass does not go all the way to the floor. To balance this band of bright light, there are floor-to-ceiling windows and high clerestory windows on the opposite side of the house. As a result there is a high level of daylight inside, and the problem of contrast between indoors and outdoors is minmized. The generous and careful use of windows opens up the interior so it seems light and airy.

As with all good things, there can be too much, so the architect added a study at one end of the living room, and he dropped the ceiling to make a dim, cave-like retreat that offers a relief from the general brightness of the house.

Because of the glass, the house seems larger than it is, a spacious feeling that is especially fortunate in a house planned for later expansion.

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source: Sunset Homes 1966 - Planning and Landscaping Hillside Homes