2190 Beech Knoll

SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE ON LOS ANGELES HILLSIDE

The Project is a radical transformation of a modest and structurally compromised house on a spectacular, steep hillside site.
The design consists of an addition of 500 sf, pool, terrace, gut renovation and remodel of a hillside house, keeping the existing wall line on the street side, the existing roof framing and adding new volume to the hillside.

The design is characterized by the new massive exposed boardform concrete beam, resting on only three piles, which “becomes” the infinity pool at one end and cantilevers out to the other end, supporting the garage volume with two pin-connected steel posts. The pool is poured together with the beam, hence reducing cost and maximizing efficiency. The beam is also important because it straightens the entire house structure that was highly damaged and sagged several inches towards the hillside. From the hillside, the roughness of the “pool beam” with its counterbalance configuration is juxtaposed to the pristine glass and steel volumes.

The existing gable roof is also carefully maintained. A new “half gable” extension is added forming a zig-zag silhouette. The new upward-pitched roof panel, washed with light on the inside, creates a dramatic ceiling up-lift. The new full height glass facade, which reaches the level of the original roof ridge, conceals the old roof line.
A new second skin of corrugated steel wraps around the building, tying old and new in a complementary and enigmatic architectural relationship.
 
The interior is completely gutted and reinvented with new bedrooms and double-height living area carved into the building open to the view and the
cantilevered terrace.