'Bay Regional' East Bay Gem - Page 2

Access to the lower level is via stairs or elevator. Here you'll find a flexible space that could be expanded into a primary bedroom within the existing floor plan, "accessible via a relatively flat driveway directly into a level, two-car garage, and into the house," McKay adds.

The elevator extends to the top floor, and even the pathway from the street is just a gentle slope with two steps. "It's an easily accessible house, a rarity especially in Berkeley where many homes are hanging from a cliff," she says.

Myra Mossman Brocchini, F.A.I.A., designed the home for her parents, Ralph and Kathryn Mossman. Brocchini was born in Palo Alto in 1932, and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture in 1955 from the University of California, Berkeley. She married Berkeley architect Ronald Brocchini in 1957.

An award-winning architect who designed more than 100 residences in the Bay Area, Myra Brocchini was awarded the Gold Medal for Design in 1954 and Chi Alpha Kappa Medal for Design in 1955. Honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1997, she received the Architectural Record Award of Excellence for the Provost Residence at UC Santa Cruz, earning numerous awards from countless organizations and publications.

After Myra's parents passed, she and her husband lived at 3025 Buena Vista for 25 years or so. And after Myra and Ron's passing, their son, Christopher, meticulously renovated the home.

"He has a construction company in Sacramento, and would come down and work on the house with his crew," McKay says. "He spent 18 months or so, a labor of love really, bringing the house back to his mother's original vision."

When asked about the unusual color scheme, McKay says, "Myra was quite bold with the colors." Referring to UC Berkeley's athletic team, the California Golden Bears, she adds, "Ron and Myra were big 'Bear backers,' so I imagine it was a nod to UC Berkeley. I'm not absolutely sure, but that is my impression."

With this home, "People walk in and you know they 'get' it," McKay says. "It's hard to explain the amazing feeling you get with this home, and with the view."

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