Located on a pedestrian street, the original house was a 1920’s
bungalow of 600 sf. In 1996 the owner/architects added second floor
bedrooms, preserving the original footprint and massing relative to the
neighborhood. View and shade were coordinated with the large 80 year old
Magnolia Grandiflora on the adjacent property. In 2002 this adjacent
property was acquired by the grandmother, allowing for communal use of
the yards. Both houses pinwheel off the massive magnolia. The
neighborhood is conventional single family, but small lot sizes and
pedestrian access raise the density significantly, creating a strong
community.
The structure of the second floor addition is of 34 wood columns
that cantilever out of garage shear walls to support and stabilize the
roof. Each member is necessary and calculated. Their repetition is more
than visual; a result of the safety redundancies prescribed by the
seismic code. This iteration is exploited to provide shading, pattern
and views from within.
This house has evolved with the neighborhood. This time the owners
wanted to be sincere about “just what holds things up.” Architecture
once sought transparency of means, another generation asked for
relationships; both are noble causes. We’re proud of being good
neighbors in the shifting Venice context; good neighbors…but honest
ones.