This award-winning home is located on an eight acre, ex-urban property at the base of the Oakland Hills near San Francisco Bay. Formed of concrete and wrapped with Corten steel panels, the net zero energy residence is an elegant, low maintenance response to its context which is draped in rich green foliage and majestic native oak trees. Dense observation of the landscape, climate, culture, and existing uses and patterns of the site were integrated with the client’s mission to mitigate environmental challenges. Technically a remodel, the house utilized the footprint of the existing house as a basis for a new floor plan. An existing fireplace was wrapped in concrete to serve as a major structural element anchoring the new architecture. This avoided additional grading and left the hillside open and natural. It also placed the new home directly under the shade of the old oaks, in intimate relationship with the trees surrounding it.