Knowlton School alumnus Martin Fenlon (BSARCH ’97, MARCH ’99) has won a 2018 American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter (AIA|LA) Honor Award for his Fenlon House (2013 – 2015) project.

The project brings new life to a dilapidated 1920’s bungalow, located just outside of downtown Los Angeles in the little-known neighborhood of Hermon. The new addition to the front of the house forms a unique alliance with the remodeled existing house. This new frontispiece appears to be intimately nested within the older existing house, while maintaining a stark differentiation.

The original gabled porch roof was removed leaving a large triangular opening in the roof that has become a skylight. The existing ceiling was removed to expose the original wooden roof structure. The new walnut and teak finishes throughout are similar in tone with this existing wood, blurring the distinction between old and new. The wood clad kitchen is embedded within the existing plaster-finished enclosure, forming a distinct space within a space.

Martin Fenlon is the founder of MFA, an architecture firm based in Los Angeles. The firm is committed to seeking a sustainable architecture of innovative space—a space that is shaped by the specific needs of the client, the unique qualities of the site and region, and the logic and efficiency of construction.

After receiving his two architecture degrees from Ohio State, Fenlon worked for Zago Architecture in Detroit for three years, after which he relocated to Los Angeles and established his practice in 2004. Fenlon is a licensed architect in California and Michigan.