Archinect - News

Atelier Bow-Wow’s first U.S. home features a large ‘umbrella’ roof in the Sierra Nevadas

2023-10-05T16:40:00-04:00

The acclaimed Japanese firm Atelier Bow-Wow has completed its first and only home built in the United States. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in California, the Mountain House sits as a “meticulously designed and thoughtfully crafted residential structure” in sixty acres of forest, according to the property’s realtors, Sotheby's.

Image credit: Nick Swartzendruber for Sotheby’s International Realty

The home sits on the site of a 19th-century gold mine which features wagon roads, trails, and seasonal streams. For the building’s design, Atelier Bow-Wow pursued a philosophy that “honors the environment, manifesting in a structure that treads lightly on the land and resources while maximizing its connection to a breathtaking landscape.”

Image credit: Kat Alves for Sotheby's International Realty

The entrance-facing facade is designed to be unassuming a...

Aaron Neubert Architects completes Los Angeles hillside residence defined by vertical ‘T’ window

2023-08-14T11:14:00-04:00

Aaron Neubert Architects has completed the ‘t House,’ a residence for a young family located in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, overlooking the San Fernando Valley and Griffith Park. Described by the design team as an “innovative model for Southern California hillside developments,” the residence blends an adherence to strict hillside regulations with an incorporation of the site’s natural surroundings.

Photo credit: Paul Vu / HANA

Visitors approach the main entrance through terraced gardens, leading to a glass-enclosed foyer. On the opposite side of the house, addressing a steep slope, a vertical window spans three levels aligning perfectly with Barham Boulevard while giving the scheme its 't' moniker.

Photo credit: Paul Vu / HANA

Inside, the residence contains three levels. The middle level houses the living space, including the kitchen, dining area, and office. The lower level features a guest suite and an entertainment zone ope...

Charlap Hyman & Herrero envision a concrete house topped by a swimming pool

2020-06-05T16:41:00-04:00

A concrete and wood home situated above the hills of Los Angeles designed by architecture and design firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero is currently under construction.

The "small concrete villa," according to the designers, is "submerged into a hillside" and is designed to appear as "a bridge spanning two large cylinders, pierced by a tree that extends through the roofline."

Organized along along a central "narrow plan" hallway that "unfolds as a sequence of distinctly shaped indoor and outdoor rooms," the home offers a stylized and severe interpretation of the California hillside home typology.

Previously on Archinect: "The Dazzling Work of Charlap Hyman & Herrero is What Happens When a Furniture Designer and Architect Team Up"Image courtesy of

The home is organized so that this hallway, lined with concealed storage spaces, links the opposing ends of the home, including the aforementioned central courtyard space.

The courtyard, according to the architects, orients the house toward its m...

bracket [goes soft]: GROUNDING: Landslide Mitigation Housing

2012-04-18T13:41:00-04:00

In anticipation of this week's event, Publish Or... bracket [GOES SOFT], we are showcasing a piece from the book each day this week. We hope to see you this Thursday!

GROUNDING: Landslide Mitigation Housing
Jared Winchester / Viktor Ramos

“Landslides and other ‘ground failures’ cost more lives and money each year than all other natural disasters combined, and their incidence appears to be rising. Nevertheless, the government devotes few resources to their study — and the foolhardy continue to build and live in places likely to be consumed one day by avalanches of mud.”
- Brenda Bell, The Atlantic Monthly, (Jan. 1999)

Precarious relationships between human occupation and geophysical metamorphism are a common occurrence along coastal California and Los Angeles County in particular. The architecture of this region is a perpetual game of chance between tranquil domesticity and the danger of its tragic upheaval. To mitigate future catastrophic events, salvage currently unbu...