FLOATING HOUSE
The client for this project walked into the first meeting with a small model he created with paper index cards. As he is a writer in the film industry, they were the handiest material he could find. With much teasing and laughter over the sticky-tape-and-paper creation we began a wonderful design process. This initial levity also set the tone for our subsequent interactions.
The idea he presented, however, was brilliant. He proposed that we float a 3rd story addition over the top of his one-story beach bungalow, leaving the middle space open to classic indoor/outdoor California year-round living.​
A seriously fun concept. We took that idea and ran with it.
The result is an open middle space with an outdoor kitchen, dining area and a fire pit surrounded by seating. It is protected from sun and rain and yet has a feeling of being connected to nature, with its view down the walk street to the ocean and the glimpse of the many palm trees for which Los Angeles is so famous. Seated around the fire pit at dusk is an exercise in the magic that is California indoor/outdoor living. It is no surprise this space has become a favorite for the clients and their dog.
Still, we needed to get from the ground floor to the top floor, and keep out the weather. Our solution was to connect the three levels with a “light box” surrounding the stairs as they wind up through the center of the house. A bonus: the extensive glazing brings in light at every level. We suggested running a series of rusted steel panels along one side as an artwork to emphasize the verticality of this gesture. Our clients had a favorite song, Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” that is deeply meaningful to them. We used this to create a seemingly-abstract series of dots-and-dashes that perforate the panels. Now the house literally has a song at its heart.
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This same pattern runs along the panels at the front fence, along with their address, laser cut into the matching rusted-steel gate.
