1. HomeS
A Breeze Runs Through IT
A new home design embraces San Diego Bay …
and energy efficiency
by eva DitLer • pHotograpHy by martin mann
With a striking view of the bay and beyond, it’s no
wonder that Pete and Jen Lobner decided to add a
third level with a deck to their Point Loma home.
56 San Diego Home/garDen LifeStyLeS • September 2011 September 2011 • sandiegohomegarden.com 57

2. • H eat rises. so why is it that
on an unusually sweltering day in Point Loma,
Pete and Jen Lobner are relaxing in the family room on the top
floor of their tri-level residence when they could just as easily
take their elevator down to the garage level and relax in the
library/den there?
“Passive cooling plays a big role,” says Tony Garcia, a design
the entrance hallway connects all the main spaces, such as the dining
area, and does double duty as a gallery for the Lobner’s art collection.
“we wanted a modern house, but a modern/contemporary
house, not post-modern and not edgy contemporary.”
principal at A2 Studios. “We have a pocketing multiple-leaf door
system. The opening is expansive bringing the indoors out and
pulling the exterior deck space, just off that family room, in. A roof
overhang provides protection to the interior and the deck space,
so you are able to have this open during summer months and get
an amazing breeze — and no heat accumulation — because the
entire interior space is being shaded.”
The energy efficiency of flow-through ventilation is a
great reason to be upstairs in the heat of summer, but it’s the
unobstructed 180-degree bay view that makes it the place
everyone wants to hang out — summer or winter, day or night.
“If you asked, ‘What’s the best feature of the house?’ the
upstairs space is it,” says Pete. “There’s a 650-square-foot deck,
and the upstairs family room and living space equal another 450
square feet, which creates a 1,100-square-foot area with a great
view.”
Creating this third level was the couple’s primary objective
when they bought the house. Originally a two-story home with
a ground level and a garage underneath, the house had a loose
Spanish Mediterranean look with peach-toned exterior and white
windows.
“Flow through the original house was poor, the result of two
renovations prior,” says Pete. “It had no street presence at all and
no real architectural style. We told Tony we wanted a modern
house, but a modern/contemporary house, not post-modern and
not edgy contemporary.”
An angled metal roof above the office gives the ordinary
square home some needed attitude from the exterior. Switching
the tired peach hue to a subtle gray green and stepping up the
old stucco to a siding combo of hand-troweled, smooth-finished
stucco and fiber cement with galvanized trim vamps the
residence with a more modern aesthetic — plus the materials are
low-maintenance and marine-environment friendly.
“Lighting on the building exterior is subtle to give it some
intensity and highlight the shapes and forms,” says Garcia.
“Narrow lights go down the entrance door, which is a dual door
system. The nice thing is, when both are open, you view the gallery
space and this provides a continuation of indoors to outdoors and
to the landing out there.”
What Garcia and the homeowners refer to as the gallery space
58 San Diego Home/garDen LifeStyLeS • September 2011 September 2011 • sandiegohomegarden.com 59

3. is actually an entrance hallway where inconspicuous, flexible up, lead to the office space and the home’s main attractions — the
ceiling lights (“they can flip from 0 to 90 degrees, rotate 360 top floor’s family/media room and bayside terrace — and, going
degrees and have dual-use movement,” says Garcia) showcases down, lead to the tertiary rooms, the “brains” of the integrated
artwork hanging on a strip extending the entire length of the home-audio system and the garage.
hallway. “With this clip system, when they want to change what To the east of the stairway is the master suite, which can be
they have hanging, there’s no hammering and nailing into walls,” closed off from the rest of the house via a sliding door; to the
says Garcia. west are the elevator and the guest bedroom/bath. Beyond the
The dining/living space is on one side of the “gallery” and the stairway to the south is a bright and cheery morning room. Both
kitchen is on the other. the morning room and the master bedroom have sliding doors
“You can see the kitchen via the gallery when you enter,” says leading to the backyard terrace.
Garcia. “We created a seating area at counter height but integrated “We wanted to create a secluded area, opposite to what we
a bar seating area that’s higher as well, so that from the gallery created on the deck, which is exposed and open,” says Garcia. “In
you are concealing the working part of the island, like the sink for this rear yard, the neighbors are at a higher elevation so they can
example.” look down into the backyard. We provided a privacy shield with
Jen says they went about the interior design of the kitchen fast-growing bamboo.”
the upstairs family room encourages lingering and relaxing.
in contrast to the top-floor deck, the backyard is a calm, comforting space in which to escape the workaday world.
backwards by choosing the Verdi Tropical granite before choosing “We love that we have no grass,” says Pete. “We used to have
paint colors or cabinetry. “It has a strong green with red accents,” two acres and a lawn tractor and we vowed no grass here. Instead
she says. “We selected cherry cabinets because its slight reddish we have accent landscaping and bamboo to provide a screen from
tint brings out the red in the granite. We opted for gray floor tiles exterior lighting reveals the home’s strength of form. Jen and pete Lobner
the neighbors.”
and a gray-green paint cast because it also goes well with the The backyard is divided into two areas by a sliding barn
granite.” door. One side is the utility area, which includes the inverter Good Practice • a design was incorporated to provide as much natural daylight as
Both the kitchen and the dining/living area offer bay views for the solar system. It can be hidden from view by closing the “When pete and Jen Lobner came to us,” says tony garcia of a2 Studios, possible thereby rendering artificial light as unnecessary during
that stretch from the Coronado Bridge to downtown and beyond. “they were conscious of green-sustainable practices and wanted to daylight hours.
door. The other area is a sanctuary with a fireplace and breakfast
introduce some of these practices where they could in design and • energy Star-rated appliances were purchased.
“We didn’t want a separate room called a living room, but table. layout.” Here’s some of what was done to make the residence more
we wanted a space, a lounge area where we could sit in comfort • a tankless hot-water heater replaced a conventional water heater.
“There’s accent lighting highlighting the horsetail and the eco-friendly:
• Durable, low-maintenance materials such as Hardieplank fiber
downstairs,” says Jen. “We bought a contemporary two-piece palm and it looks very nice at night,” says Jen. “Just before I go to • fifty percent of the original footprint was maintained.
cement siding were installed.
sofa that forms a semi circle when you put them together, so we sleep, I look out to the backyard and it makes me feel like I’m in • the home was built in an appropriate size and scale, so there’s no
• Drought-tolerant landscaping was introduced.
have those at the front window facing each other. Then I really energy waste due to overbuilding.
a resort.” ◆ • Space was utilized to avoid waste — even a small connecting space
wanted a square dining table because that shape makes for easier • passive heating and cooling strategies, which included high-value
Where TO FIND IT, PAGe 124 between the gallery and guest bedroom was used for storage.
insulation, low-e windows, sliding doors for flow-through ventila-
conversation than a rectangular table. The table is a perfect fit in • an elevator accommodates sustainable longevity — a sort of
tion and large overhangs, were utilized.
the space that we have and it can seat up to 10 people.” aging-in-place idea.
• a 2.5 KW solar electric grid-connected system was installed.
At the other end of the hallway are floating stairs that, going To enter our Homes of the Year contest, visit sandiegohomegarden.com
60 San Diego Home/garDen LifeStyLeS • September 2011 September 2011 • sandiegohomegarden.com 61