Following our previous visit to New York-based WXY Architecture + Urban Design, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to California this week to explore the work of Yu2e, Inc.

The architecture and engineering firm has built a portfolio grounded in private single-family residential projects alongside commercial, mixed-use, and multi-family schemes. As we have previously reported, the firm’s work has recently been recognized at the 2024 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards and 2021 AIA|LA Design Awards for their Axolotl and Almost Famous homes, respectively.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring a Design Associate to join their Culver City studio. For candidates interested in applying for the position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four unique residential projects by Yu2e that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Gable Gable Gable, Los Angeles, CA

A single-family home with views of the Santa Monica Mountains, Gable Gable Gable seeks to “create cohesive and elegant exterior elevations by utilizing the gable as a unifying and organizational form.” The minimalist front elevation sees a series of ‘sub-gables’ defining the porch and garage while the rear elevation is organized around the negative space of the second-floor deck, itself formed as a gable void.

“The project also prioritizes sustainability, with an all-electric house powered by a solar panel system,” the team adds. “Heat pumps provide water heating and air conditioning while cooking appliances are induction. Stormwater is collected, pumped, and filtered through a filtration planter. This project not only achieves a cohesive, modern, and comfortable home but also incorporates sustainable features to minimize environmental impact.”

The Axolotl, Los Angeles, CA

A multi-family scheme developed under TOC (transit-oriented communities) standards, The Axolotl takes advantage of TOC’s relaxed restrictions to deliver seven dwelling units on a site that would otherwise only accommodate four. On the upper floors, large private open spaces such as balconies and roof decks combine with floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to allow more outdoor utility while introducing natural light and ventilation. The distribution of the decks reduces the overall bulk and scale of the building.

“The units are efficiently organized into the limits of a type V three-story building at grade with a single stair core, which keeps costs lower while also making possible the kind of open layout units and multiple wall openings and windows on all sides,” the team explains. “With characteristics taken from bungalow courts and dingbat apartments, our project is an evolutionary hybrid of Los Angeles middle housing. The dwelling units are at once cozy and livable, breezy with ample access to outdoors, while benefiting from the cost efficiency of multiple units collectively sharing spaces and resources to create community.”

Bluplex, Culver City, CA

A response to the city’s housing crisis, bluplex sees two residential units arranged with one on each floor, creating what the firm describes as “a viable and sustainable alternative (not a replacement) to the dominant single-family housing type maintained and produced in the region.” Both units have direct access to private outdoor space adjacent to their respective main living areas, with the front yard given the lower unit and a large cut-out terrace serving the upper unit.

“Ample swaths of large glass doors and windows provide capacity for indoor-outdoor living while further trimming the girth of the structure with transparency,” the team adds. “Finally, the entire exterior is clad with fiber cement boards that are oriented and painted to differentiate the units. The bright blue on the upper unit is meant to blend the second-story walls into the sky in a tongue-and-cheek mitigation of the oft-repeated critique of two-story residential buildings encroaching on the adjacent neighbor’s free and clear access to the heavens.”

Pomegranate, Culver City, CA

Located near Culver City’s major transit hub, Pomegranate sees an existing 1920s-era bungalow expanded and converted into a three-unit complex. Designed to “rebrand the densification of suburbia,” the scheme avoids demolishing the existing fabric or introducing new, dense typologies to the area and instead sees “a lighter and more nuanced insertion of extra dwellings.”

The existing bungalow is rehabilitated as a conventional three-bedroom home, while a second two-bedroom unit is contained within a new two-story volume whose bright red color lends the project its name. Finally, an existing accessory building has been converted into an ADU studio for a third unit. “The smaller buildings are less expensive to build and the savings are reinvested to get upgraded exterior finishes like siding instead of stucco, larger windows and doors opening out to more landscaping, courtyards and trees,” the firm notes. “While our strategy is low impact, it is essential to highlight the arrival of mild density that did not ruin the neighborhood.”

Meet Your Next Employer is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Job Highlights series looks at intriguing and topical employment opportunities currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.