The Noe Valley Hillside Retreat
Building on the steep slopes of Noe Valley presents unique engineering and aesthetic challenges. An architect partner approached us to visualize a cantilevered modern home for a client who struggled to read standard 2D elevations. But the bigger nightmare was the neighbor downhill who was convinced the new house would steal their sunlight. The client was terrified that the proposed structure would feel too imposing and trigger a lawsuit. They needed to know exactly what this house would look like, not an artist interpretation of it.
We did not rely on assumptions. We requested drone footage from the client, captured at 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 4:00 PM. We then camera-matched our 3D model into their footage. This was not a cartoon house on a green background; this was their specific house, on their specific dirt, with their specific view. We ran a 12-month solar simulation based on the geolocated data and found that in December, the living room would be pitch black by 2 PM. We added a clerestory window in the model to catch southern light, a flaw the client would have lived with forever if not for the simulation.
Client Name
Studio 415 Architects
Client Type
Architecture Firm
Location
Noe Valley, San Francisco
Project focus
Site integration, shadow analysis, and client reassurance
Color Palette
Natural Cedar, Basalt Grey, Off-White, Sky Blue
Services Provided
Architectural Visualization, 3D Rendering, Photomontage
Budget
$6,500
Duration
10 Days
Thoughtfully designed spaces for life
Strategic Design Interventions
We use 3D simulation to bridge the gap between blueprint and reality.
1
Forensic Accuracy vs Artistic License
Most renderers cheat. They stretch the room to make it look bigger. We do not. On a hillside lot, cheating gets you sued. We adhered to strict volumetric accuracy so the client could see exactly how the cantilever looked from the street, warts and all.
Predicting the Future
We visualized the shadow casting for every single hour of the year. We revealed that the original roofline would have shaded the neighbor solar panels. We adjusted the pitch by 12 degrees in the model and solved the problem before it existed.
2
3
The Weathering Effect
New houses in established neighborhoods look like sore thumbs. We applied weathering textures to the cedar siding in the render, showing how the wood would silver-out over 5 years. This convinced the client to ditch the stucco idea and go with natural materials.
