The stone, wood, and stucco form of the ELL house in Los Angeles' Benedict Canyon is not the first structure to grace its site. Oddly enough, the previous structure helped to accelerate ELL’s building process: the architects were able to list their design as a remodeled residence for permitting purposes, thereby sneaking past the Baseline Hillside Ordinance's setback and building restrictions.
The resulting 5,500 square foot space (which according to architects Domaen took two months to go from the conception stage to physical execution), features an irregular planar facade on one side, a crisp white exterior on the other, an infinity pool, and a spacious, multi-story interior. Domaen owes the incredibly short time it took to design and build the home to a design/build methodology, the aesthetics being very much an expression of the constraints of the construction process and the steep site.
Throughout the home, the concept of “rooms” gives way to the idea of “zones,” creating an interior that feels very open and not restrained by conventional notions of boundaries. While this is freeing in some respects, it also enables the architects to take advantage of the “elevational” aspect of the project, heavily predicated on the happy juxtaposition of “alignments and misalignments.” The purposeful gaps and linear switchbacks throughout the interior and exterior create an aggressive visual dynamism.
The ELL house does exhibit certain features typical for lofty hillside real estate: mostly obscured from public street view by an elevated wing wall, the house opens up visually to its neighbors in the canyon. However, both the deck and the infinity pool are not merely landscape elements, but a part of the new floor plan, thus extending the footprint of the overall property. A small interior courtyard with an entry pond greets visitors from the street, while the first floor offers comprehensive views of the surrounding landscape. The second floor accentuates privacy, and features an understated rooftop terrace.
As an unfurnished space (save for the extensive wine rack in the ample kitchen), the ELL feels like a scenic stage set awaiting the arrival of sophisticated players.
Julia Ingalls is primarily an essayist. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Slate, Salon, Dwell, Guernica, The LA Weekly, The Nervous Breakdown, Forth, Trop, and 89.9 KCRW. She's into it.
![Community-built market completed in northern Ghana by [a]FA](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/dc/dc5b666d1adccc5af343c18ab8a74061.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=355&h=210 "Community-built market completed in northern Ghana by [a]FA")
3 Comments
I would be curious how much the short two months timeline was also due to funds. Meaning what is normal timeline and how much additional funds, were spent in comparison?
As this was a spec house I imagine they tried to spend as little as possible on the accelerated timeline.
Nice, but I think I have seen this before.
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