SITE CONDITIONS: 8,263 SF lot area with an 8 foot down-slope from the street. No construction allowed within drip line of two protected oak trees on adjacent property to the west.

PROGRAM:  Residence for an empty nest couple with ample outdoor living space, consisting of 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and outdoor workshop with the master suite on main living level to accommodate clients’ long-term aging-in-place.

DESIGN INTENT: The clients expressed a desire for a house with a modest scale from the street; a fluid relationship between interior and exterior space with privacy from adjacent neighbors; and a distinctive design conceptually situated on the trajectory of Los Angeles modernism.  

We organized the site into functional bands of varying widths running north-south, and overlaid a pattern of alternating angled walls and roof lines to shape space and direct view and movement from the site and through the house.

Since the site offered no obvious desirable views, courtyards, a south-oriented deck and rear garden serve as focal points framing the sky, existing and new tree canopies, and the play of light wherever possible.

Site Plan

The entire site is engaged in the architectural composition. The plan is bi-laterally symmetrical with an upward spiral progression around the entry courtyard, leading to the upturned cantilevered roof. The angular and folding form language of the house reads alternately planar and volumetric.

© Steve King Photography

• Architects

  Corsini Stark Architects

• Location

  Altadena, United States

• Category

  Houses

• Lead Architect

  Richard Corsini

• Area

  2650.0 ft2

• Project Year

  2016

• Photographs

  Steve King Photography