Design firm: Unfold Projects
Project name: Unfold Artist Residency new home
Location: Encinitas, California, United States
Size: 230 square meters
UNFOLD Projects, a regenerative design platform that promotes the restoration of existing structures through collaboration with artists and artisans, has recently completed its artist residency in Encinitas, California. The project involved the renovation of a “gem” of Californian modernist architecture, where the paradigmatic sharp lines and sparse structural framework give way to an organic interpretation of domestic space. The complex, designed by Shanna Kellogg with Kendrick Bangs Kellogg beginning in the mid-1970s, consists of a two-story main building and a single-story former carpenter’s workshop, both of which had been significantly altered over time by incongruous modifications. The project involved the renovation of the main building and the conversion of the annex into an artist’s apartment, through the collaborative efforts of artisans and creatives in the creation of artwork, furnishings and finishes, with the aim of enhancing the site’s historical identity and adapting it to the needs of contemporary living. The new copper roof, reimagined according to the original, never-built design, accentuates the clear geometry of the composition. Inside, the removal of later additions and the use of a palette of natural materials—teak, clay and limestone—made it possible to rediscover compromised views and bring warmth to the space. Circularity was a key principle of the renovation: most of the elements removed during the work were reused in the reconstruction to create works of art, furnishings, sculptures, lighting systems and even a guitar, built with redwood salvaged from the house.