AXOR INSPIRATION: Switchback House by Edmonds+Lee Architects

“I think the idea of the ‘domestic spa’ was important. If you view your home as a sanctuary, every opportunity should be taken to emphasize those values.”
Vivian Lee, Edmonds + Lee Architects

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Architects: Edmonds + Lee Architects

Collections: AXOR Starck, AXOR Uno, AXOR Urquiola

A full-service design, development and architecture firm based in San Francisco, Edmonds + Lee Architects has garnered international recognition for its contemporary approach to homes and housing. The Switchback House, which partners Robert Edmonds and Vivian Lee designed for themselves and their two children, explores light, space, plane, material, and the endless possibilities of form.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.

In San Francisco, where property prices are high, lot sizes are small and opportunities to design a home from scratch are rare, the tendency is to maximize the square footage of any new build. For their own home, Edmonds and Lee took a different approach. Both partners were attuned to qualitative living and the notion of home as a sanctuary for health and well-being. The Switchback House, which they designed for themselves and their two children, offers a personal vision of Compact Luxury, but one with wide appeal.

The bedrooms are on the lower level of the Switchback House.

CRAFTING THE IDEAL SPACE.

By opting for three bedrooms instead of four, eliminating redundant spaces, and creating a sense of openness and flow, the architects have made a compact design feel remarkably expansive. But their boldest move of all may have been to ‘flip’ the home, putting the bedrooms below and the kitchen, dining and living areas, including a large outdoor terrace, on top. This ensures the best views and light, and creates a sense of airy spaciousness in the part of the house where the family spends most of its time.

Switchback House bathroom with AXOR Uno and AXOR Urquiola.

AXOR FOR A COHESIVE DESIGN LANGUAGE.

Edmonds and Lee chose AXOR for the Switchback House. In the bathrooms, they selected faucets from the AXOR Uno collection and towel bars from AXOR Urquiola. Designed by Phoenix, AXOR Uno embodies the Purist ethos of simplicity, reduction to the essential, and self-evident function. “It’s just so clean and pure,” says Edmonds of AXOR Uno. “It’s a perfect reflection of just a faucet – nothing less, nothing more.” According to Edmonds, Patricia Urquiola’s AXOR Urquiola, a collection characterized by the artful fusion of eclectic shapes and styles, has “a little bit more personality beyond the strictly minimalist aspect.” In the kitchen, Edmonds and Lee opted for a faucet from the elemental AXOR Starck collection by Philippe Starck. All three collections, Edmond notes, “go together cohesively.”

The kitchen of the Switchback House features an AXOR Starck kitchen faucet. Copyright: Joe Fletcher.

An outdoor terrace extends from the living area of the Switchback House.

The Switchback House bathroom features AXOR Uno faucets and AXOR Urquiola towel bars.

The architects eliminated redundant areas and created a sense of openness and flow, as between the kitchen and living space.

To maximize quality of space, the architects ‘flipped’ the home, putting the bedrooms below and the kitchen, dining and living areas on top.

Designed by the architects for themselves and their two children, the Switchback House offers a personal vision of Compact Luxury, but one with broad appeal.