Look! It’s the World’s Coolest Garage Door

When’s the last time you got excited about a garage door? Never, right? You have never been excited about a garage door. But today, that all changes.

This house, located on a steeply sloping lot in San Francisco, has plenty going for it. The home’s sleek wood-and-glass facade stands out compared to the other, more traditional houses on the street, and the operable porthole windows punctuating the stretches of glass are particularly striking. But drive a car into the garage, and no one will be looking at all of that.

At the touch of a button, what looks, at first glance, like a run-of-the-mill garage door turns into a moving piece of sculpture. Made of reclaimed cypress, which reflects the cypress louvers that provide privacy elsewhere in the house, the door is formed in two halves, which nest together to form a fingerlike joint at the middle. When the door is activated, the fingers splay apart, and then finally fold together.

The backside of the door, which reveals all the machinery that makes this possible, is a little less pretty. But the view once the door opens is a panorama of San Francisco’s Mission District, so it’s not all bad.

The rest of the house, which occupies four stories on a very steep hill, is equally fascinating. If you’re a design nerd like myself, you’ll enjoy reading how the architect solved the problem of building a house on an incredibly steep lot, with a private stair just inches from the bedroom windows. If you’re a person who loves beautiful views you’ll be awed by (and probably a little jealous of) the top-floor living room/kitchen, with stunning views of San Francisco and outdoor spaces from which to enjoy them on both sides. Glass walls on both sides mean that even from the patio on the far side of the house, you can catch a glimpse of the mountains and the rooftops.

Check it all out on Dwell.