VG Residence

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA, United States

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VG Residence

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2010

SIZE

5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft

In the
same way that Andy Goldsworthy significantly transformed the reading of a large
boulder in a stream with the simple gesture of placing dandelions on its top
surface, it was our intent to transform the difficult terrain of an irregular
property with the placement of a new 5500sf house into the landscape, forever
changing the reading of the two.

Strategically
placed retaining walls and deepened footings create a plinth upon which the
project sits while the topography rises to the east and falls away in all other
directions. The clean, yet articulated architectural surfaces and geometric
forms along with the groomed landscaping and intentional planting beds provide a
foil to the rocky natural terrain of the cliff and wild, natural vegetation. To
the east, a large retaining wall runs the length of the flag-lot carving into
the hillside and creating space for not only the main house to reside, but also
for a detached guest house/garage building that occupies and informs the entry
sequence from the street. To maximize a large courtyard area off of the main
house, a concrete patio and infinity pool elevate and extend out over the
cliff’s edge. Hidden from view from the house is a pathway downhill of the pool
that leads to a private exercise room tucked into the hillside below grade. As
the inaccessible terrain falls away from the house, new outdoor space is
offered on the roof top affording 270 degree ocean and coastline views.

Though man-made and natural forms exist
independently of one another, their distinct differences connect them by their
adjacencies to one another. In turn, each becomes more of what it is.