An entrepreneur and family with a passion for healthy living requested a large home on their dramatically sloping 2-acre site. They specifically wanted an informal layout that could be woven into the topography of the property. Wanting to enjoy as much of the site as possible, the client requested the inclusion of steps and landscape pathways to allow for access to more distant parts of the steep site. Situated on a promontory jutting into the canyon below, the hillside retreat boasts multiple vistas of the surrounding canyon and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Since covenants, conditions, and restrictions associated with the property allowed for only a single story above street level, many of the home’s rooms are located on a lower level which daylights onto the downslope side of the house. This modest massing arrangement allows for neighboring properties to see over the roof of the home. In three distinct locations, landscaped topography “fingers” heighten one’s awareness of the natural hillside. Bridges span over these fingers, enhancing and extending the natural graded areas deep into the heart of the home. The design solution offers new perspectives for experiencing the owner’s prized views while providing a glimpse of the topography as it stood before the house was set upon it. Meticulous craftsmanship and authentic building materials are recurring themes best exemplified by the widespread use of board-formed concrete walls, white oak shiplap wall cladding, and painted galvanized steel doors and windows. A datum of wall elevations was carefully laid out to align the joints of the seemingly random board-formed concrete with the adjacent wood boards that come in 3″, 4″, 5″, and 6″ widths. Floors, ceilings, steps, lighting, speakers, keypad controls, and outlets were all carefully placed so that no element ever interrupts a joint in the boards.

See more on Dwell.com: The Palisades Residence – Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California

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the-leichler

The Leichler

Photographer: Scott Hargis
Architect: building Lab Our clients were young newlyweds who purchased this property in October, 2015. They were passionate about mid-century designs and all things retro and they had grand visions for their first home. They wanted it to be a standout in the neighborhood where they could entertain family and friends in style. After a thorough whole-house remodel and expansion with structural and foundation upgrades, the homeowners, who welcomed a new member (a baby boy) to the household, are now living in a completely transformed modern beauty with sleek and comfortable interiors and spacious outdoor areas. To Open or Close? We removed some walls and created an open and enlarged kitchen. To allow for maximum connection of the kitchen/dining area to the backyard, an existing post was removed and ceiling joists were extended to connect with a structural fascia. But instead of leaving a vast amount of common areas, we coopted some of those spaces to create an additional guest room/study. The same theme of openness and definition applies to the landscape design: low walls, hardscapes, outdoor kitchen, and fire pit define spaces for cooking, al fresco dining, play, and lounging. A Dining Pod
In a bold stroke, our clients decided to forgo a formal dining area. Instead, they opted for a glorified eat-in kitchen with custom built benches and live edge waterfall table. This pod continues the strategy of capturing and articulating special areas within a large open concept. It is the core that serves myriad functions such as dining and entertaining, newspaper reading, and possible homework station in the near future. Master Pavilion A House Within A House: Instead of just expanding into the backyard horizontally, the ceiling of the newly created master suite was raised 4’. Since the addition called for reframing and building new foundations, building Lab’s designers made use of the opportunity to rethink the whole concept of this parents’ retreat. By raising the ceiling, and adding a long skylight above the head of the bed, the master bedroom is dramatically infused with natural light. The space feels expansive and tranquil, and this feeling is carried through in the master bath. The simple elegance of the master bath is achieved through both effective space planning and restrained material palettes. Most of the fixtures and cabinetry are installed on one side of this very long room. The walls on both sides are clad with Resysta®, a sustainable material made with recycled rice husks, salt, and mineral oil. The natural wood look of this cladding adds to the spa ambience and the entirely glass end wall creates a dramatic one-point perspective. All white console sink, cabinetry, and a sculptural tub complete the look.

cascading-house

Cascading House

The site has the typical challenges of many urban lots in Ho Chi Minh city: abutted by tall neighboring houses, small developable area relative to the clients’ program, and compromised access to daylighting and natural ventilation. Due to the height restriction, the house was pushed 1 level below the ground to accommodate the large program. In an effort to solve as many issues as possible, we proposed a concrete column system hidden inside the north and south concrete wall that face the neighbors, acting as the primary structure for the house and freeing up the space in-between. These concrete walls provide privacy to the clients and their family, and open up the east and west facade for views and outdoor-indoor connection. Because the column system extends continuously from the basement to the roof, the concrete beams spanning in-between can be moved vertically without any structural concerns. This flexibility also meant total discretion to determine the elevations of the upper floors–which we intended to take advantage of. By convention, the program is stacked floor-by-floor to maximize the usable area of a small lot which could result in monotonous and isolated spaces. We wanted to do just the opposite: visually and spatially connecting the different parts of the house together by splitting the floor plates, and then cascading them to create a multi-story atrium. In this space, life unfolds naturally; once a family member steps out of the bedroom, he/she will be in an all-connected “room”, and in the company of another member, whether that person is on the other side of the atrium or 2 levels above. In addition to spatial articulation, this atrium brings daylighting down to the basement, and–working with the 2 sunken gardens which are naturally filled with cool air–aids the stack effect by letting the hot air rises to the top. The temperature of the lower floors, as a result, becomes more comfortable. From the outside, Cascading House looks solid as a rock that provides sturdy shelter. The interior, however, feels as porous as a sponge soaking up natural light and air, and brings family members closer together–the qualities that make this house a home.