DRAWINGS
The house's form is a reflection of the natural slope as well as the result of many site constraints – both physical and municipal. As I began to formulate my initial design concepts, I proceeded from a single governing principle - to blend in with the natural topography of our hillside site. Lautner's LA modernism, Muennig's iconoclastic houses of Big Sur, Moore & Lyndon's Sea Ranch Development, and Jaffe's East Hampton houses served as philosophical guideposts. Sea Ranch, in particular, with its language of simple volumes that “live light on the land” was a great source of inspiration.
Floor Plans
We stepped the floor levels with the down-sloping terrain to reduce our grading excavation soil volume. Terraced levels are unified by a single-pitched roof that runs parallel to the natural slope. Our main entrance is located along the side of the structure, while a central stairway connects the upper and lower levels and bisects living from sleeping areas. One side of the stair contains stacked bedrooms against the hillside, while the other contains the double-height common spaces that open out onto views of the San Gabriel Mountains. This stairway functions as the core of the house, a node for daily activities, with the utility areas (laundry, powder room, pantry) tucked beneath and the living spaces radiating outward.
Since we intend to spend most of our time in these shared spaces, we devoted our quite limited allowable floor area to them over bedrooms and bathrooms. Throughout the house, there are purposeful built-ins to serve each room, including a corner window seat in the living room that looks out over Ernest E Debs Park, Highland Park, Pasadena, and the high ridges beyond.
Exterior Elevations
south elevation
east elevation
north elevation
west elevation
Section
Landscape Plan
Exploded Axon
