Location: West Los Angeles

Cody Campbell | M.Arch1 | UCLA | 2011

Instructor: Ben Refuerzo

Project Description:

The client of this 4,500 square foot residence in West L.A. called for a space that would act as a showcase for his car collections, as well as art work, fabrications, etc. The client also wanted the house to integrate with the landscape and create its own natural environment in the non-contextual nature of West L.A. suburbia. As a frequent entertainer of guests, it was imperative that the house easily accommodated friends and family as they gathered here.

In sequence, the visitors enter on the nort- east end of the site along the longitudinal axis of the house. Upon entering, they immediately descend parallel to the garage, which maintains grade height, putting the clients’ cars on display. The landscape rolls up and under the twenty foot cantilever, and spills into the interior. Continuing through the rest of the lower level reveals a vast, column free expanse of glass on the southwest and west side that is solar protected by the 20 foot cantilevered bedrooms. This cantilever is made possible by the series of dual-moment frames; the primary structure of the house. The glass panels slide completely open, eliminating the southwest corner of the building, and allow the interior space to flow out to the natural garden, again maintaining the diffusion of indoor/outdoor space.

The top floor is split into two separate bars of program, one being the guest house, and the other the two main bedrooms. This split captures a stream of sunlight that illuminates the living space and kitchen, once again, reinforcing the internal exposure to nature.