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Tobias Architecture

Tobias Architecture

Malibu, CA

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Street view
Street view
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Smith Residence, Malibu

The design of the Smith Residence is ambitious in that it tailors a courtyard house to a sloping site.

Three-story portion of the Smith residence. Stone ruin walls.
The main level contains artfully integrated public spaces, namely the kitchen/family room area and the tripart living/dining/music room.

The site is designed off the metaphor of stone wall ruins, terraced to create the courtyard at the approximate mid-slope area.

The majority of the mass sits atop this pad, acropolis-like when viewed from the rear of the site. A three-story portion of the house creates a visual tie from the top of the site to the bottom, and provides a means of internal vertical circulation as well.

At the top of the site, street level, visitors are invited down to the residence by means of a well-spring at the gate and a stone path adjacent to a babbling brook, which emphasizes the existence of the slope.

 
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Status: Built
Location: Malibu, CA, US
Firm Role: Architect

 
Living room
Living room
study
study
music room
music room
master bath
master bath
family room as seen across from courtyard entry
family room as seen across from courtyard entry
sideyard
sideyard
kitchen detail
kitchen detail
Garden outside music room
Garden outside music room
courtyard
courtyard
Three-story portion of residence
Three-story portion of residence
The site plan shows the placement of the U-shaped residence. The topography lines delineate a 14 foot drop in grade from the street to the back yard. The house dances down the slope.
The site plan shows the placement of the U-shaped residence. The topography lines delineate a 14 foot drop in grade from the street to the back yard. The house dances down the slope.