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Location: Los Angeles, California, United States Year of construction: 1988 Architects: Л1 orphosis Architects Photography: Reiner Blank |
This three-story house has a slightly irregular ground plan. The interior space is organized in a totally unusual way, with the daytime area on the top floor and the bedrooms and service areas on the first two floors. This means that, instead of being overshadowed by the row of houses on the other side of the coast road, the living room enjoys a view of the Pacific Ocean. The plans also clearly show the intersection of two separate areas: a central section that houses the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the elevator, while the rest of the rooms are located in the other – diagonal — section.
Particular emphasis has been placed on the circular-shape entrance located on one side of the central block of the building. It gives access to a family living room that opens onto a patio, on the left, and a guest area with a bathroom and sauna opposite, on the right. The next floor houses the den, with access to a patio, and a bedroom with its own closet and en suite facilities that also has access to exterior space. On the top floor are the main living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. A narrow corridor leads onto a vast, open terrace. Finally, the basement houses the garage, storehouse, and the service area.
The windows are placed so as to offer views of the surrounding landscape, as well as being a source of privacy and light. The view is toward the west, the Pacific Ocean, and the private yards of the first and third floors. A single operative window in the kitchen, and a series of three large windows on the north side of the house, provide indirect light to the central space.
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The kitchen, located on the third floor of the centra! block, is the most complex space in the house. It is a point of convergence for structural elements, high-tech appliances, and complicated systems of access to the various internal areas of the house.
In the interior of the house, the simplicity of the materials offsets the spatial complexity: the floors are tiled, the walls distempered, and the top floor has beautiful wood – paneled ceilings.