PROJECT DATE: 11/1/2015
PROJECT SIZE: 2408 SF.
$585,000.00 Construction Budget
SITE CONDITIONS: Extremely narrow 25’-0” wide lot allowing for only a 19’-0” wide house with setbacks.
PROGRAM: The owners interest was in creating as functional a space as possible given the confines of the site and orient towards the view at the rear of the house..
DESIGN INTENT: Our intentions on this project were to address two primary interests. One that we make the narrow 19’ wide house feel bigger than it is and secondarily that the privacy of the close lots on either side be mitigated without compromising the ability to bring in natural light.
The basic tenants of how a room is defined with walls was redefined to a series of open, flowing spaces that culminate in an amazing hillside view of downtown Los Angeles.This flexibly space is kitchen, living, family, dining rooms, and positively connected to the outdoor dining and BBQ as part in the interior functions.
To address the privacy issues created with the close proximity and slight elevation of the neighbor in which conventional windows would have inevitable been permanently covered in closed drapes, there was developed an “operable window/wall “ which allows natural light and ventilation in, are semi-opaque to the neighbor and still offer vantages to the street and hillside of the house. These same panels can be controlled through manual operation or a sensor system that allows each window to operate autonomously creating a breathing wall capable of adapting to environmental conditions and creating an innovative and performative elegant passive heating and cooling method.
Natural light is received into the main living space primarily through a large skylight which is exhibited at the top of the two story vaulted space, spanning the length of the room. Direct sunlight is baffled between light shafts which mitigate the natural light in an indirect and diffused manner. The living room floor itself is allowed to transmit light to the kitchen and dining through use of a walkable glass floor which has unintentionally become great entertainment for the children who use it as to pose to the spectators below.
