In this two-story hillside addition and renovation, a simple, Janus-faced plan resolves the program for a screenwriter mother and her preteen daughter. Separate bedroom and bathroom suites connect around a light-filled landing and stair. A sense of seclusion is achieved in each through rooms of distinct environmental qualities with private, but expansive views: one to the ocean, the other back toward the city. Surrounded in her own childhood by classics of mid-century design, the client acquired this home and site intending to one day capture spectacular views from an upper level--through the lens of contemporary architecture. The project was realized on a limited budget employing familiar construction techniques and uncomplicated materials. Simple inflections in plan and section together generate complex volumes and perceptual shifts, all achieved using standard wood-framed construction with no structural steel. Glass, fiber-cement board and rough cement plaster form a vocabulary of permeable and impermeable boundaries, framing space, light and views. Changes in material work in concert with the plan geometry, both keyed to the nature of the program beyond. At the interior clerestories, abbreviated walls and sliding panels combine to extend the visual field, transmitting light and strategic glimpses of the view between spaces of considerable intimacy.
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