How do you perform major surgery on a mid-century icon and leave no visible scar? That was the task in renovating this untouched 1966 Palo Alto home, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé and collaborator Aaron Green. Tucked away on a flag lot amid traditional suburban homes, the goal was to make the house viable for a growing family- without disrupting its original spirit.

Given the spider-like sculptural roof and scuppers of the original, the home already was a complete thought, with no obvious solution of how to add to the composition. The home’s footprint was nearly doubled through three quiet, reverent interventions: the existing roof beams were terminated mid-span to insert a rear addition beneath an upward-sloping roof, expanding the once-dark kitchen and bedrooms. The original carport, too low for modern vehicles, was captured and reimagined as a sunken family room. Where the program required the addition of an entirely new volume for a primary suite, the CMU walls were reinterpreted in board-formed concrete as a way to tuck it away. Though the addition honors the original structure, the new roof asserts its own character, with clerestory windows that introduce lightness to balance the heaviness of the existing roofline. Throughout, sightlines are carefully orchestrated to frame the iconic roof scuppers as they descend to the ground.

The home was also updated to accommodate the modern realities of a changing environment. It operates off-grid, generating its own power and using battery storage to remain functional for several days without external electricity. Stormwater is managed onsite and directed to a 100-foot-long meandering vegetated swale that creates additional wildlife habitat while also self-providing 75% of its required irrigation.

The guiding principle: to allow modern interventions to speak with clarity, always asking—’What would Mr. Green do?”