GRAPHĒ: An Architect Couple Transform a Berkeley Midcentury for Aging in Place

The hilltop aerie in Berkeley captures dramatic views and casts an eye to the future.

"Some days the view is insanely vivid, and other days it's very muted. But it's always changing, even within minutes,

Architect Cecily Young—with help from her architect husband John Ruble—spearheaded a down-to-the-bones renovation of a home set into steep terrain in Berkeley, California. Cecily added a rental apartment below the main level, with the idea that it could be home to a live-in caretaker as she and John get older. All three floors command a panoramic view of San Francisco Bay.

Cecily Young and John Ruble were thinking about a second home. The architect couple were keen to collaborate again, having designed their sprawling, palm-tree-shaded house near Culver City, California, in the early aughts. This time they wanted to build a more compact, low-maintenance getaway where they might eventually retire. Cecily, 62, and John, 72, started by scouting locations close to home.

Dedicated city folk, they weren’t seeking to go off the grid, and they thought they’d found the perfect balance of town and country with a plot they bought a couple of hours away in Ojai. But developing the untouched parcel of mountaintop proved to be cost-prohibitive.