In the polItIcs of desIgn,
the partisan divide between soft traditionalists and hard modernists can
make Congress seem like kindergarten. Though as our elder statesmen
can attest, some of the most brilliant initiatives are found in the center. Just
ask David Oldroyd. For the past 20 years this principal at San Francisco’s
Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates has catered to the modernist
wing. But after years of renting, he’s found his own space to forge some
common ground: a Spanish style stucco townhouse propped on a hill in
the city’s Corona Heights neighborhood. “It had every single one of the
things I needed: location, views, fireplace, and it was built in 1928 so it
had a sense of tradition to it,” says Oldroyd, who purchased the building
four years ago. “And it had the ability for me to make it modern with high
enough ceilings. I didn’t want to live in some condo tower downtown in
order to get a modern box.”
