Second House

Los Angeles, 2018

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This 1500 square foot house on an extremely tight site is an intricate aggregation of interior and exterior volumes.

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Closely surrounded by other residences and without potential for visual connection outside the site, the house turns inward around a central courtyard.

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Ground and Second Floor Plans

Each room is expressed through the massing, paired with a corresponding exterior space (two entry alcoves and a courtyard) carved from the buildable footprint. This alternation from inside to out and back is emphasized by an alternating arrangement of material surfaces, creating a series of dramatically different spaces that are integrated into a single environment.

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While the program is made explicit through different volumes, both interior and exterior are knitted together into a single, visually continuous living space. This balance between volumetric distinction and spatial continuity creates an environment in constant modulation; by natural and artificial light, opening of doors and windows, and configuration of furniture.

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The exterior is finished as a monolithic mass with specifically patterned cement board panels. The orthogonal surfaces have a slightly darker tone than those at a diagonal, producing an ambiguous reading between a single rectangular block and three aligned wedges. In contrast to the differentiated-but-open ground floor, the master bedroom and guest room at the second level are isolated volumes, each contained in a separate wedge.

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Mirrored Sections

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Project team: David Freeland, Brennan Buck, Johannes Beck, Nick Schwaller Photography by Eric Staudenmaier Furniture provided by Knoll Inc.