Owners:  Junaid Qurashi, Malika Z. Junaid
Architect: Malika Z. Junaid, M Designs Architects

Homeowner Summary
Built: 2008
Square Footage: 6,000

Someone once said that a comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.  Needless to say Malika and I believe in this theory. We both like contemporary design and believe that living spaces should be warm and inviting.  That is exactly what our home has turned out to be.

I have an engineering background with a passion for modern architecture.  Malika is a principal of M. Designs Architects and is the creator of this residence. We have lived in the Bay Area since 2000.  In 2003 we built a contemporary home in Sunnyvale, CA, but a year after our daughter was born, we decided that we needed a bigger place where our kids could enjoy growing up.  We started looking into different places where we might relocate and once our heart was set on the city of Los Altos, we bought a small rundown house, which we demolished to build a new house to meet our needs.

Design Challenges: We believe that the home is a place where you should love spending time with your family, and thus decided to turn our wish list into our list of requirements.

Our property was about 10,000 sq ft. on which we were only allowed to build about 3,400 sq ft., which was a good size to meet most of our requirements, but not large enough to meet all the items on our wish list.

Creating privacy, yet offering windows for ample daylight was also a challenge as the property is a corner lot facing a busy street.

Solutions: To meet all the requirements and the items on our wish list, a space of about 6,000 sq ft was required.  Malika decided to go with about 3,000 sq ft. living space below ground (basements are not counted against maximum usable area). 

For the sake of privacy and to avoid the street noise, no windows were designed in the front façade that is facing the busy street. 

However, to allow ample natural light Malika created a courtyard at the basement level, which lets in natural light and gives the feeling that the basement is at ground level at the same time it filters the street noise.  In addition, many skylights and a large curved window facing east provide abundant daylight throughout the house.

Design: The exterior of the house is inspired by Richard Meier’s architectural style.  However, many who have seen it have also compared the exterior circular façade to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim museum.  The interior design is inspired by Wright and Richard Neutra’s philosophy of ‘lots of glass and livable porches that make all outdoors seem like part of the house.’  

As you pass through the 9 foot tall by 2.5” thick solid teak doors, you step on to massive porcelain tiles that extend like a bridge over the koi pond.  Once you pass the pond you enter a semi circular multi-level open space kitchen, dining and family room.

Most of the east wall is wrapped in a curved glass curtain wall that is 9 by 21 ft, inviting the morning sunlight to light up the entire house.

The kitchen also follows the smooth curves of the house and is designed to be practical while giving the house a look of smooth sophistication. A six burner stove sits on top of a curved island with a stainless steel and glass surface. Dual tubular island hoods add beauty to the kitchen as well as provide an efficient exhaust solution. The kitchen features cabinetry with stainless steel appliances designed with horizontal lines that carry over to the doors, cabinets and some walls.

The kitchen, dining and family room is cantilevered over the great room that lies eleven feet below ground.  Curved stainless steel stairs with teak wood steps take you to the great room.   Even though it is the basement, the 13 by 6 foot operable skylight and the large courtyard gives the feeling that it is on a ground level. Since we love entertaining, the great room is ideal for that purpose and also serves as a wide space for kids to play freely in an unconfined space. The basement also contains theater room, office space, exercise room, additional kids play area and a couple guest rooms.

Another unique element of the great room is the 40 foot long indoor lap pool, which can be seen from every angle of the house. Decked with black concrete, it can be enjoyed in all seasons.

There are three bedrooms upstairs - the master suite, kids’ bedroom and an extra room - designed as part of the house, but also capable of being completely separated by a discreet sliding door.

The master bedroom is our little haven overlooking the interior. Keeping the bed area simple, much attention has been paid to the bath area, which is part of the bedroom, yet retains its originality. A Jacuzzi and state of the art lighting and shower mechanism makes even a simple bath a pure sensuous pleasure. The kids’ room is not just a bedroom but also functions as an indoor play area. We have utilized space in the form of a loft, complete with a children’s slide, which makes it exciting for the kids and their friends to play.

A house has the potential to become a little bit of paradise, designed for individual comfort and customized to meet specific needs.  Our little paradise has made our lives complete in ways we didn’t think were possible.