ROBA is a California-based architectural partnership. Formed in 1989 by architect Patrick O’Brien and designer Stephen Rynerson, the firm specializes in high-end residential and retail architecture. The mission of ROBA is, in Rynerson’s words, “to bring the elements of classical design into modern usage and form.”
Both principals are talented designers who bring complementary skills to the partnership. Architect O’Brien began his career in municipal building design and residential restoration, particularly in the Georgian style, and later developed a mastery of the forms of the Craftsman movement. Rynerson immersed himself in the Victorian restoration boom centered in San Francisco in the 1970’s. Both received formal training and degrees in Architecture – O’Brien at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, and Rynerson at the University of California at Berkeley.
At ROBA, we appreciate the houses and buildings that form the historic fabric of great cities, and our appreciation of history is not superficial. ROBA conducts detailed surveys and observations of existing conditions, researches historical antecedents and draws on decades of collective experience in restoration and adaptive re-use to produce designs that seamlessly integrate new construction into period context.
After nearly 30 years of partnership, the principals are retiring and are no longer accepting new clients.
This living room is an homage to the work of Charles Rennie MacIntosh, whose influence can be seen in the mantle design as well as the stained glass laylight in the coffered ceiling. The clients’ instincts for combining ethnic and modern art with Arts and Crafts decorative arts and architecture are here shown to maximum effect.
This house, rebuilt after the Oakland Hills Fire, is “a free interpretation of Craftsman-style elements [which] creates a lively sensibility. without attempting a period duplication. This is unabashedly contemporary architecture,” says Paul Duchscherer in his book The Bungalow.
Originally a Queen Anne cottage, this house in Ashbury Heights had suffered the indignity, common to many San Francisco Victorians, of having its original ornament stripped so that it could be replaced with cement asbestos shingles. A more difficult design problem, however, was how to camouflage the hip-roofed second story added in the early 20th century. The addition of a cupola over the entry integrates the formless bulk of the second floor with the massing of original cottage and restores proper emphasis to the entry. Ornament on the original was reconstructed from scar evidence made visible upon removal of the asbestos shingles. The resulting design has been reproduced in various drawings and photographs in the manner usually reserved for the most iconic of San Francisco Victorians.
This 5-year project involved restoring the original exterior of the McDonald Mansion, while making discrete additions to the rear of the property and integrating the house with its spacious gardens. The formal rooms were re-imagined as Victorian theme rooms around a central hall illuminated by a stained glass skylight. The back of the house was developed as an intimate retreat open to the private rear yard. Landscape structures include a restored gazebo, stone gateposts, a green house and a formal pool plaza surrounded by arbors. This project was awarded the 2013 Palladio Award for Best Residential Renovation/Restoration. Photo: George Shadow.
The owners of this Queen Anne/ Colonial Revival beauty wanted to expand and remodel their kitchen in a way that would open the interior to a beautiful but small garden. Planning restrictions prohibited expanding the footprint of the house, so the design took a cue from an existing conservatory by converting an existing covered porch into a conservatory-like extension. A sitting area is located two steps down from the kitchen in order to be as close as possible to the garden level, and the remodeled kitchen opens to the garden through the glass-enclosed extension.
The most dramatic and spatially impressive of all Mableton’s rooms, the Main Hall design sets the tone for the surrounding public spaces, with its bold structure of Eastlake-style mahogany woodwork, and a striking assemblage of Aesthetic Movement wallpaper patterns. Interior design consulting by Paul Duchscherer, with Bradbury and Bradbury wallpaper installed by Heidi Wright Mead. The magnificent leaded art glass laylight is by Reflections Studios. Photo: Mark Citret.
This Alameda Queen Anne home originally designed by A.W. Pattiani, received a ROBA-designed façade restoration and new wrap-around porch to help integrate later additions and restore the “gingerbread” features that Pattiani was known for. Porch and ornament carpentry built by Skeeter Jones/Clearheart Design with a color design by Lynne Rutter. This project was awarded a 2013 Alameda Architectural Preservation Award.
