Oakland, CA - When it comes to building “green,” a simple metal product by McNICHOLS has made a triple play at a California home that’s being celebrated for its environmental integrity and trendy design.  

Sustainable. Functional. Aesthetic

Perched in the Oakland Hills on a 13,000 square-foot multi-layer lot overlooking San Francisco Bay, The Margarido House (named for the street where it resides) has a metal architectural feature with a wing-like prominence that boldly proclaims the home’s green virtues.

It’s a simple, yet sustainable McNICHOLS aluminum bar grating that wraps neatly around the southern and western exposure of the house announcing its unmistakable purpose.

Wanting to shade the sun from the home, which was designed to need no air conditioning, builder/developer and resident Mike McDonald of McDonald Construction and Development Company, Inc., found that metal bar grating, often associated with industrial uses, serves multiple green purposes.

It helps cool the first level and doubles as a functional deck on the west side with the addition of a handrail. On the south side, the bar grating is a catwalk for window maintenance. Adding to its green attributes is its permeability and non-corrosive quality, making it an integral part of the home’s rain water recycling system.

In short, the metal bar grating provides an aesthetically pleasing feature that supports the home’s environmental integrity and contemporary design.     

McNICHOLS supplied the bar grating in three- and two-foot panels of 20-foot lengths weighing roughly 200 pounds each. The material, specified and installed by Chris French Metal Inc. of Oakland, was bolted to the cantilevered steel beams of the 4,635 square-foot house.

The deck, which extends eight feet, is strong enough to walk on; wide enough to shade the sun’s intensity into the first floor living room, kitchen and entryway; durable enough to withstand fire and wind and permeable enough to aid water run off recycling. Plus, it’s green in its own right, all of which helped the house exceed environmental standards.

More than a shade

Completed in Spring 2008, the home has a 600-square-foot planted roof with underground rainwater storage tanks. McNICHOLS metal bar grating was also used as exterior stair treads leading up to the planted “green” roof, because it is safer and more durable than conventional stair treads of wood or tile; is self cleaning and, like the deck, allows rain to penetrate to the ground where it is redirected to the reservoir beneath the driveway.

The rooftop soil and plantings help insulate the home, increase the roof’s lifespan, slow storm water run-off and provide a natural green space for viewing the San Francisco skyline. The roof also houses photovoltaic panels to generate electricity, while solar water collectors preheat water for the radiant-floor heating system and domestic hot water.

McNICHOLS grating was chosen again for the driveway as a sturdy and permeable cover for the mechanical equipment serving the 4,000-gallon underground concrete reservoir. The grating gives access to the rain and groundwater collection cisterns, pumps and controls for maintenance, and allows area to be used for parking.

According to McDonald, The Margarido House is slated to be the first LEED-H Platinum Custom Home in Northern California and the first home in the country to be both LEED-H Certified and Greenpoint rated. These certifications ensure that The Margarido House goes above and beyond California building standards, which are among the most stringent in the nation, and is being recognized with a national award for design excellence.

In the safety zone

“There were a lot of materials we could have used for the sun shade, like wood slats or a green house material such as poly carbonate panels, but it would not have given the same affect,” said metal fabricator Chris French. “We wanted a material that would last a long time, so we kept coming back to aluminum. It’s weather resistant, lightweight, and sturdy enough to get us into the (weight load factor) safety zone.”

Signature feature

According to Mike McDonald, his design team never imagined that this would become the signature element of the home. “It evolved organically during the design build phase.  It has this aviation and nautical feel to it,” he said noting its wing like span.

Visit www.mcnichols.com or www.margaridohouse.com.