398 Eureka: Exterior (Image Source: MapJack.com)
From a plugged-in reader with a good eye (and memory):

Vanguard is listing the home of Phil Matthews, AIA. It says “call for price.” I am not sure the exact address but it is at the NW corner of 21st and Eureka.

Nothing on Vanguard’s website that I could find yet, but it’s a great house. It was on the AIA house tour 3 or 4 years ago.

In terms of the address, that would be 398 Eureka. In terms of the tour, that would have been 2003. And in terms of the design, we found a few more shots (and background) online.
398 Eureka
From the architect:

This is my own house, where I currently work and live with my partner, Ed Graziani, who contributed many ideas to the design of the house. We did an initial deconstructive design back in 1992, which was subject to criticisms by some neighbors. We then went on to build 700 Noe Street, in 1995-96. We then re-designed and built this project. A 180 degree turn from the mindless complexities of deconstruction to the simple, bold strength of Louis Sullivan’s Charnley House in Chicago, the so-called ‘first modern house,’ was part of the inspiration for the 1998 re-design.

The price? Let us know when you make the call.
UPDATE (9/26): Officially priced ($2,450,000) and added to the MLS as inventory.
AIA Profile: Philip Mathews Architect [aiasf.org]
Philip Mathews Portfolio: 398 Eureka [mathewsarchitect.com]
∙ Listing: 398 Eureka (3/4) – $2,450,000 [MLS]

11 thoughts on “AIA Tour (And Architect’s) Home Hitting The Market: 398 Eureka”
  1. This is my hood. There are so many beautiful homes in the area, and the views are unmatched in other parts of the city. There are some very sophisticated mini mansions in the area, and could be mistaken for Pacific or Ashbury Heights. I noticed this home before, but I’m not a fan of bare bones simple design, but they still did a nice job for what it is. There is also a home right across the street which looks like it was designed by the same architect, is this true?

  2. This house is light and bright and filled with magnificent uplifting spaces. The corner windows are especially brilliant. I haven’t made the call, but I have heard it is $2.5m which sounds right.

  3. Minimalism makes interiors easy to navigate and adapt. I bet this is a pleasant place to live in, and the location is good if a bit busy. This may not be ideal, but at least it isn’t just more of the same homage to the bay window that keeps happening all over the place.
    That said, the exterior seems big and aggressive to the street, also plain. Breaking things up and making way for some greenery might help. Corner windows that don’t open can be kind of a bummer, and second floor patios like that are a security hazard.
    Deconstruction is just a way of handling form and ornament. If done well it might be quite fussy, but mindless sounds like something somehow went wrong with the design process. Beaux Arts is also detailed and may be quite whimsical. Could that also be called “mindless”? Sorry, but I’m a big fan of Deconstructivism and see it contributing more to modern styles of building than mere mindlessness. Maybe I missed the point there.
    If this were my design I’d take the second and third floors back at least 2-3 feet, maybe more, in a [mindless] Deconstructed kind of way, replace the corner windows with tall double hung windows, leave only a third floor balcony, and use the added exterior space for growing hops and native grapes up the side to the top of the roof deck trellis. This might get approval if the Deconstructivism is kept light and meant to be hidden by foliage, but probably not.
    It seems like there should be some way to wedge a coast live oak in the rear yard.

  4. I love this house but Eureka is a through street from Market to Noe for those who do not want to deal with the tough left hand turn or traffic of Castro Street. It is also on a bus line.

  5. Interesting design but has a very industrial look for this neighborhood. Lovely bright interiors and a great roof deck, but some of the finishes and detailing seem cheap and poorly done. For instance, that extreme sandpaper texture stucco, the cast concrete counters, the sheet rock finishing, the punched steel interior roof stairs, and the ground floor exposed smooth finished concrete slab that has cracked everywhere. Good for a SOMA loft, but not here.

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