The Prince House ADU

The Prince House is an example of minimalist architecture which responds to the opportunities + limitations provided by the tight lot conditions. The house (which is actually an Accessory Dwelling Unit) is designed on an extreme "postage stamp" footprint of 21' x 13.5'. The layout strictly adheres to the modern principle of form-follows-function.  

The house features a reverse floor plan with the bedroom / bathroom on the ground floor + the living room / kitchen on the upper floor. Due to the adjacent driveway parking + the noisy street, the Prince House does not address the street or front yard. Instead the layout opens up to the rear. This allows for the bedroom to open up to a private exterior courtyard + the living room to have large windows facing the iconic Coronado Bridge on the horizon. The only windows on the front facade are positioned higher than typical to disassociate with the street, rather focusing on the flight path of airplanes entering San Diego + the canopies of the palm trees which line the street.  

To make a small space feel much larger the upper floor has vaulted ceilings with exposed structural joists. The roof is pitched in one direction from the front to the rear giving the impression from the street that the home has a flat roof. Using the simple shed roof design the Prince House captures all of the water in a single gutter then drains everything directly to the single olive tree in the front yard. There are also solar panels installed to offset the high utility costs in San Diego while providing power for electric vehicles.  

The Prince House both provides a well-needed additional unit of housing for San Diego while preserving a piece of the Barrio Logan community through the Prince mural mounted in front of the structure. The mural was painted by world renowned artist / activist Mario Torero the week after the musician Prince died. It was meticulously preserved + relocated from a commercial building a few blocks away. The architects choose to display the mural for the benefit of the neighborhood by mounting it in the front yard.