Archinect - News

Arshia Architects completes Bel Air residence inspired by ‘streamline automotive design’

2023-06-06T12:28:00-04:00

Los Angeles-based Arshia Architects has completed RO54, a residential scheme perched on a hilltop in Bel Air. The team describes the project’s aesthetic as “directed by streamline automotive design,” with a split-level concept following the hilly topography of the site.

Image credit: Paul Vu

The 6,700-square-foot home sought to minimize its perceived massing, with a “dynamic” building sitting atop a buried podium. To bring daylight to the bedrooms on the lower level, a courtyard has been carved out from the buried podium, which also doubles as a rainwater runoff filtration system for the site.

Image credit: Renee Parkhurst

Image credit: Arshia Architects

Inside, the interior palette was sourced naturally and includes a minimalist selection of mica plaster, hardwood flooring, and natural stone. In selecting materials for the interior, the team sought out low-impact, proven materials to achieve a balance between durability, ease of maintenance, and responsible sourc...

$2 Billion Powerball winner splashes $25.5 million on Hollywood Hills mansion

2023-03-09T13:58:00-05:00

To say the last few months have been life-changing for Edwin Castro would be putting it mildly. In November, he bought a winning Powerball lottery ticket at a Mobil gas station in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena. Last month, he finally claimed his record-shattering prize, taking home a $997.6 million lump sum before taxes. Less than 30 days later, he’s the proud owner of one of the flashiest new mansions in the star-studded Hollywood Hills.

Castro purchased the mansion for $25.5 million, a discount from the property’s initial ask of $29.95 million. According to the Los Angeles Times, this is the most expensive sale in the Hollywood Hills this year and one of the neighborhood’s priciest ever. The home was built in 2022 by luxury development company Roman James Design.

Hollywood Hills home of Powerball Lotto winner Edwin Castro. Image screen grab via The AgencyRE.

It stands three stories tall, with more than 13,000 square feet of living space, including five bedrooms and six bathrooms. It features a range of extravagant offerings, including a game room, wine cellar, movie theater, gym, sauna, infinity pool, and more.

Video courtesy of The AgencyRE.

Wood and concrete comprise the mansion’s façade. Its interior is defined by open-concept, indoor-outdoor spaces that allow for a seamless connection between the living spaces and the exteriors. This transparency also provides panoramic views of Los Angeles.

...

An altered AD photoshoot landed one wealthy Bay Area couple in hot water over potentially looted Cambodian relics

2022-08-16T16:23:00-04:00

The January 2021 issue of Architectural Digest featured a remodeled $42 million San Francisco residence described as a Spanish Renaissance Revival palacio. [...] ...shows ancient Khmer sculptures resting on the same pedestals. The Cambodian government says those stone relics, depicting the heads of gods and demons, match a set that was looted years ago from one of the nation’s sacred sites.

The tony $42 million Peter Marino-designed San Francisco manse was the subject of a multi-page spread in the January 2021 edition of the magazine. A spokesperson for Architectural Digest said that photoshopping was required by “unresolved publication rights around select artworks,” but an eagle-eyed attorney working for Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts who originally spotted the empty plinths indicated their resemblance to a pair allegedly taken from one of the country's most sacred sites a few years ago.

“It’s easily one of the most important statues in the temple, and probably all of Koh Ker,” Bradley J. Gordon is reported to have told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). “By having this in their collection, the Lindemanns essentially had the Cambodian equivalent of a sarcophagus stolen from King Tut’s tomb sitting in their living room.”

...

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner is vying for a record $225 million with the sale of his enormous oceanfront Malibu estate

2022-04-28T19:55:00-04:00

Michael Eisner is chasing a record on the bluffs of Malibu, listing his prized oceanfront compound for $225 million. If he gets his price, it’ll be the most expensive home sale in California history.

Much of the nine-building compound was designed by one of Eisner’s personal favorites Robert A.M. Stern in the 1990s and would considerably usurp Jeff Bezos’ $165 million Bel Air home acquisition, the $150 million Chartwell Mansion deal from 2019, and a nearby property owned by hedge fund magnate Marc Andreessen, which sold in October for a then-record total of $177 million.

The $225 million listing price is slightly less than the half-a-billion dollar figure originally commanded by Bel Air’s sprawling The One complex, which eventually fell to $295 million before selling for $146 million at a bankruptcy auction in early March.

Celebrity real estate is a constant in the design-savvy enclave, with recent sales of Richard Meier and Tadao Ando creations joining Eisner’s property on a list of high-profile architecture to hit the market recently.

Why not give Drake’s Toronto mansion a virtual tour this Holiday weekend?

2021-11-27T14:02:00-05:00

If you’re reading this it’s not too late: Die-hard Drake fans looking for a little architectural distraction during the American holiday, which was a byproduct of the Civil War, can now find respite in the form of a new virtual tour of the Grammy winner’s massive 19th-century limestone private residence in Canada.

A screenshot of the house courtesy Drake Related

The Birdle Path, Toronto manse first made its rounds on the internet after starring in Drake’s 2020 music video for Toosie Slide.

A screenshot of the house's lounge area courtesy Drake Related

Coming in at exactly 50,000-square-feet, Ferris Rafauli’s vision features a full-size NBA court and aesthetic enhancements like Nero Marquina marble floor inserts, a marble kitchen island and bath tub, and a custom marble chandelier (there’s marble everywhere). One thing that I find is a bit unsettling: he’s got a closet full of Birkin bags for his “future wife.”

You can buy all kinds of shit while you're on the tour there as well. Nike...

$500 million Bel Air megamansion defaults on $165 million debt, enters receivership

2021-09-09T15:32:00-04:00

A Los Angeles megamansion once expected to list for $500 million has gone into receivership after the owner defaulted on more than $165 million in loans and debt, according to court filings. The 105,000-square-foot Bel Air estate, known as “The One,” was placed into receivership by the Los Angeles County Superior Court and is expected to be relisted at a lower price in the coming months, according to people familiar with the property.

In July, the Los Angeles County Superior Court named Ted Lanes of Lanes Management as receiver, who is now tasked with preparing "The One" for sale and selling it to recoup debts owed to lenders. The megamansion is expected to be listed on the market in the coming months once Lanes secures the proper permits and certificate of occupancy. The price and timing haven’t been determined yet, said Lanes.

Previously on Archinect: The half-billion-dollar Bel Air giga-mansion is still looking for a buyer

“What I would love to see happen is that the house gets completed, the certificate of occupancy is awarded, and we have an orderly sale that maximizes the value,” Lanes shared. “Hopefully, there will be sufficient proceeds from the sale to fund the secured and unsecured creditors and for the equity to realize some value.”

As stated by CNBC, it’s currently unclear whether "The One" will sell at a high enough price to pay off all the debt.

How did we end up with all these Megamansions?

2021-03-01T16:58:00-05:00

While American single-family home prices have continued to rise in the midst of the pandemic, and we mere mortals hit “fave” on six-digit Zillow listings we’ll never afford, the rich are getting richer—and that includes celebrities who shell out millions on megamansions, an unofficial term traditionally used for any home over 10,000 square feet, and sometimes limited to those over 20,000.

Writing for VICE, Ashley Spencer dives into the history of the garishly large homes of America's 0.1 percent.

Bel Air 'Chartwell' mansion sells for $150M, now the priciest home in California

2019-12-12T14:35:00-05:00

Some know it as “The Beverly Hillbillies” mansion, others as Chartwell. Now, it has a new name: California’s chart-topper. The Bel-Air residence of late media mogul A. Jerrold Perenchio has sold for the highest price in California history, about $150 million. The buyer is Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and co-chairman of publishing company News Corp., The Times has confirmed.

The spacious estate at 875 Nimes Road in Bel Air, also known as "The Beverly Hillbillies" mansion from the 1960s TV show, finally changed owners for an undisclosed amount, which sources familiar with the deal told the LA Times, was around $150 million.

While the deal would easily beat the previous California record setter, the 123-room Spelling Manor which sold for $120 million in July this year, the Chartwell selling price still comes in roughly $200 million under the original $350 million asking price for which the property came up for sale in 2017—and considerably lower than the $238 million penthouse in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed 220 Central Park South luxury condo tower in New York City, the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S.

Philip Johnson's Beck House in Dallas is listed at $19.5M

2019-07-05T17:05:00-04:00

Just North of Dallas' city center lies a lesser known mansion designed in 1964 by infamous architect Philip Johnson. With six bedrooms and seven full bathrooms, this 11,387 square foot home in Preston Hollow, known as Beck House, is the architect's largest home design.

Recreation Room.

Gallery Room.

At first glance, the building appears less like a residence than a museum, office or opera house design, as its design clearly leans on lessons learned from his design for The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center (formerly The New York State Theater), which was completed in the same year, and other public building designs completed by his firm. The home is distinguished by several colonnades, a sprawling library and a palatial double-staircase in a gallery room.

Dining Room.

According to the listing, the home sits on 7 acres which include "a media house, modernist cabana, pool and tennis court." The home is for sale at $19,500,000.

Main Home from garden.

Cabana.

56,000 square foot Spelling Manor sells for $120 million, setting new California record

2019-07-03T15:42:00-04:00

After nearly four years on the market and a few sizable price cuts, a 123-room Holmby Hills mansion known as The Manor has sold for $120 million, making it the most expensive home sold in LA County. The seller is Formula One racing heiress Petra Ecclestone, who bought The Manor from Candy Spelling in 2011, paying $85 million in cash. She gave the home a flashy makeover, adding a nightclub in the basement and tanks for exotic fish.

$120,000,000 is the new record to set in the California real estate market, and the home to beat is the infamous Spelling Manor in Holmby Hills.

Outdoor fountain at Spelling Manor.

The 56,000 square foot home was originally built in the 1980s for TV producer Aaron Spelling and his wife Candy Spelling. With 14 bedrooms and 27 bathrooms, the home is one of the largest in the country. It sits on 4.7 acres of land that includes a swimming pool, a tennis court, a bowling alley, a screening room, a barber shop and several other unusual amenities.

Screening Room in Spelling Mansion.

The purchase has exceeded that of the $117.5 million home in Woodside sold to Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son in 2012. But with few homes as large and as well located as Spelling Manor, the record may be unbroken for years to come.

New safety and corruption concerns over Bel Air megamansion: 'entire house must be demolished,' says former construction manager

2019-06-20T15:23:00-04:00

The mammoth, unfinished mansion on Strada Vecchia Road in Bel-Air has long been at the center of controversy, investigations and legal battles. Its developer, Mohamed Hadid, pleaded no contest to criminal charges after prosecutors accused him of building a house far bigger than allowed. [...] And investigators have looked into possible wrongdoing by a city building inspector scrutinizing the house.

Looks like the legal drama over the gargantuan on-again/off-again under-construction Bel Air megamansion by celebrity developer Mohamed Hadid is entering a new act: Russell Linch, the contested project's former construction manager, has come forward this week and accused a Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety inspector of allegedly accepting perks in exchange for 'overlooking' building code violations.

"Because I believe the piles are inadequate to support the house, I believe the house is unsafe and that the entire house must be demolished," Linch added in his declaration.

$245 million, and America's most expensive listing could be yours

2018-10-30T19:58:00-04:00

The limestone clad mansion in Bel Air owned by the late TV executive Jerry Perenchio just got a price cut. But at $245 million, the commanding French neoclassical residence, which measures 25,000 square feet, is still the most expensive listing on the open market in the U.S. The property, which came up for sale last year for a staggering $350 million, has long been the cream of the crop among high-end estates.

If you happen to have won the $1.6 billion lottery jackpot last week or simply don't know where to stash away all those extra tax-cut savings, here's a sweet dealio for you: the spacious 'Chartwell' Bel Air mansion at 875 Nimes Road was built in 1933 and also appeared in the 1960s TV show The Beverly Hillbillies.

Photo: Jim Bartsch/Hilton & Hyland.

"Features include a Wallace Neff designed 5-bedroom guest house, 75-foot pool with spacious pool house, tennis court, car gallery for 40 vehicles, 12,000 bottle wine cellar and precisely manicured gardens befitting a chateau in France," reads the property description.

Oh, and it's a total steal, too: after being listed for an eye-watering $350 million last year, the asking price has since dropped significantly to a bargain $245 million. Plenty of spare cash left to fill that 40-vehicle car gallery.

California cities have nation's highest density of homes worth over $1M

2018-07-03T14:19:00-04:00

Perhaps it’s not a surprise in a city where residential prices can reach into the stratosphere, but in Los Angeles, more than 17 percent of all homes are valued at over $1 million. What may be more shocking is that L.A. doesn’t have the highest share of million-dollar homes. [...] San Jose and San Francisco were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. In San Jose, homes valued over $1 million made up 53 percent of the market. San Francisco’s million-dollar-share was at 40 percent.

Other major cities ranked in the new LendingTree survey are New York (4th place with 12 percent market share), Miami (9th, 4 percent), and Chicago (18th, 1.3 percent).

The half-billion-dollar Bel Air giga-mansion is still looking for a buyer

2018-03-05T14:14:00-05:00

The construction of this and other so-called giga-mansions underscores a new gilded age in the United States and especially in LA. [...] The splurge comes amid a housing shortage that has fuelled a homelessness crisis, with 57,000 people without permanent shelter in LA county [...]. The Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez compared the city’s hilltop mansions to giant tombstones marking the death of humility.

The Guardian takes a peek into the world of ultra-luxury real estate developer Niles Niami whose latest endeavor—the sprawling Bel Air hilltop giga-mansion with its four swimming pools, 20 bedrooms, movie theater, and nightly club aptly called The One—frequently makes the news for being America's priciest home. Clocking in at $500m, the property is still waiting for a billionaire buyer.

Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles dominate list of most expensive homes sold in 2017

2017-12-21T15:40:00-05:00

After 2016 smashed records for the planet’s biggest deals, this year was not far behind. There was a noticeable flurry of activity in the aptly named Golden State of California where the rich and famous – and we’re talking the likes of Beyoncé and Jay Z – flocked to snap up a piece of prime LA luxury. But three of the most expensive homes were all inside one development in Hong Kong.

Is the McMansion era finally over?

2016-09-06T13:40:00-04:00

The McMansion style, built between 2001 and 2007 and averaging 3,000 to 5,000 square feet, lacks the appeal with today's buyers compared to old vintage homes or large freshly built homes. The realization is especially hard on homeowners trying to sell because when they bought the giant homes in the early 2000s, they thought of them as great investments, Feinstein said. Then, the idea was that bigger was better because prices presumably would keep going up.

Now, housing analysts say the day of the McMansion has come and gone. An analysis just completed by Trulia shows that the amount buyers are willing to pay for McMansions over other homes has fallen 26 percent in just four years. As homes in general have been regaining value, McMansions have been losing appeal in comparison to others as the giants of the pre-crash years have aged.

In related news:

Couple sues architect for allegedly copying their dream house

2016-07-08T13:00:00-04:00

The couple claims the firm Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous and property owners Daniella and Ari Schwartz accessed their exclusive plans in property records last August through the Lawrence buildings department — without their permission. “There is no doubt that you have accessed and intentionally copied the plans of the Fortgang residence intending to create a replica of our clients’ home and distinctive exterior,” the Fortgang’s lawyer Steven Stern wrote in a cease-and-desist letter

Rivka and Seth Fortgang from Long Island had their custom 4,400 square foot house built in 2004, in the neighborhood of Five Towns. After learning Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous were building a very similar looking house a mile away, the Forgangs sued. Rivka Fortgang, an interior and exterior home designer, claims that the copycat house has damaged her reputation personally and professionally.

More contentious lawsuits in architecture:

Beyoncé filmed her NOLA-themed "Formation" video at this historic Pasadena mansion

2016-02-10T20:16:00-05:00

Despite the themes of the video, nothing was shot in New Orleans...The concept and quick turnaround required Tobman and the rest of the crew to convert [the Fenyes Mansion in Pasadena into a] fitting Southern Gothic set...A Beaux Arts mansion commissioned by and built for Dr. Adalbert Fenyes and his wife Eva Scott Muse Fenyes in 1905, there was nothing really Southern about architect Robert D. Farquhar's design

If you're still bumpin' the Queen Bey's latest hard-hitting single, get a glimpse of the history behind the Fenyes Mansion in Pasadena, where parts of the song's impressive music video were filmed.

More music-related goodness on Archinect:

Playboy Mansion to hit the market soon (yes, it comes with Hugh Hefner)

2016-01-11T12:48:00-05:00

According to celebrity gossip juggernaut TMZ, the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles is soon to go up for sale and the owner — Playboy Enterprises and not Hugh Hefner — hopes for a brazenly quixotic and international publicity assuring sale price “somewhere north of $200 million.” [...] should someone sign on the dotted line they will be required to accept a lifetime tenancy by Mister Hefner, now 89 years old and married since 2012 to 29-year-old former Playmate of the Month Crystal Harris.

Better call the carpet cleaner first.

Katy Perry, rebellious nuns, and that LA convent

2015-06-29T16:34:00-04:00

Here's a line I never thought I'd have the pleasure of writing: Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is sparring with elderly Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the pending sale of the nuns' former convent in Los Feliz to international superstar singer Katy Perry.

This Bel Air home could be yours for a mere half billion dollars (yes, B-illion)

2015-05-28T13:08:00-04:00

One of the biggest homes in U.S. history is rising on a Los Angeles hilltop, and the developer hopes to sell it for a record $500 million. Nile Niami, a film producer and speculative residential developer, is pouring concrete in L.A.’s Bel Air neighborhood for a compound with a 74,000-square-foot (6,900-square-meter) main residence and three smaller homes, according to city records. [...] including a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom, a 30-car garage and a “Monaco-style casino,” Niami said.

Rendering of the "largest home built in the U.S. this century." (Image: McClean Design; via bloomberg.com)

Previously: The Biggest House in the US (according to Curbed) is Now Underway in Bel Air

In NYC trophy townhouses are back in favor again

2014-09-21T23:38:00-04:00

“For 10 or so of these important properties to come on the market at the same time, that matters a lot,” - Gregory J. Heym, an executive vice president and the chief economist for Halstead Property and Brown Harris Stevens

Earlier this month Robin Finn, looked at one trend in Manhattan's luxury/high-end real estate market. Given the less than 2,000 single-family homes in Manhattan, a recent influx of historic mansions and townhouses into the market, offers buyers a rare opportunity to avoid co-ops and condos.

Some are calling it a nouveau form of recycling, but without a doubt one that caters to the 1 percent.

Return of 'mansionization' has some L.A. homeowners grumbling

2014-05-05T13:35:00-04:00

Six years ago, Los Angeles politicians imposed new limits on the size of new and renovated houses, promising to rein in what they called "homes on steroids" dwarfing blocks of smaller buildings. But as the housing market rebounds and construction picks up, many homeowners complain that "mansionization" has revved up — reigniting long-standing policy battles and sometimes bitter fence fights over the face and feel of L.A.'s neighborhoods.

Tech professionals seek less flashy homes

2013-09-12T17:32:00-04:00

The owner of Hill House is Scott Croyle, senior vice president of design at HTC. At two bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a study, the home is just large enough to share with his wife and son. Its modest scale allowed Bernstein to emphasize quality materials over quantity of space. "It's almost a negative value in that (tech) community," said Bernstein of over-the-top homes. "There's a real emphasis on not seeking a mansion right away."

Abandoned UC presidential mansion may be renovated after years of neglect

2013-08-16T17:48:00-04:00

North of the Berkeley Hills, nestled in the quiet community of Kensington, lies an abandoned mansion called the Blake House. At the end of a short gravel path, the home historically reserved for the UC president lies behind two wrought iron gates. But the 13,200-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion — with an elevator, two kitchens, a massive library and panoramic views — has been empty for more than five years.