HOLLYWOOD HILLS HOUSE

This spectacular property encompasses the entire head of a canyon in West Hollywood in LA. In spite of its dense urban setting though, this 8 acre site is stunningly quiet and private.

This is a large house, totaling around 20,000 sf, and a principal challenge was to harmonize the relationship of the house to the incredibly special land it sits on. Ultimately, the house takes the form of intersecting “L” shapes, like the nearby Schindler house, only stretched in order to interact with the topography of the steep hillsides, and, most notably, to create a bridge spanning the canyon itself. The house is very much connected to the outdoors, with the line between indoor/outdoor blurred. And while it certainly takes advantage of its commanding views, the grand, open panoramas are balanced by quieter moments, under the shade of trees, or embraced by the enclosure created by the house and the steep hillside it nestles into.

We sought out a series of special moments that thread through the property as the ravine descends, by quietly and deliberately spending time - eyes, ears, and nose open - everywhere on the property, across seasons, as citruses blossomed, hawks wheeled, and hummingbirds fed. The design that emerges is one that is only partially about the house itself; the circulation through the site, and the creation of a “narrative” that touches special moments, weaves around and through the house, making the building itself only one portion of the overall experience.

-Project on hold, 2020