2547 Walnut

About This Project

 

Squashed between regional and neighborhood commercial, on a 140-foot long single-family sliver; the beach house is standing as an inspiration among a single row of one-story 20s and 30s single-family houses. The first work-of-art in its neighborhood, the project elevated a dusky 1918 Venice house into a delight of beachy air, sunshine and splashing water.

With plenty of excess setbacks provided, the interior courtyard and surrounding yards are forming an extravagant and unified open space enjoying the beach weather, sun, and water elements. Rationally, providing a 15-foot side yard when only 5-foot is required, leaves the interior space in deficit. Not in this house though! The full-height 10-feet pocket doors connect indoors to an exterior deck, allowing plenty of space for the interiors to surf into the exterior and integrate with the pool and landscaping. Use of natural material such as wood, glass, concrete and local landscaping emphasizes the beachy tune of the location.

Contrary to the common trend, the main entrance street view of this Venice Beach house, is closed off with a tall white two-story (28- foot high by 20-foot wide) wall. This was designed to avoid the visual blight and noise of adjacent regional commercial, and serve as a barrier. This wall closure has turned the weakest point of the site into an opportunity by making a tabula rasa statement from the existing norm. While still allowing sunlight to shine through via the channel glass at the corner, lighting the entry space.

Maximizing the usage of space through an over-the-garage ADU unit, allows total privacy for a tenant which enjoys the luxury of its own rooftop and entrance.

Inside/out: Building orients towards the south, allowing for natural sunlight to shine through all day, to offset the continual ocean breeze of Venice Beach. The second-story balcony serves as a shading device eliminating harsh summer sunlight and inviting winter sunlight. Podocarpus trees hedgerow along the edges of the site, provide privacy while allowing maximum openness to the interiors of the house.

Locating the pool and the waterfall in the center of the site, divides the site into two sections with the ADU on one side and primary residence on the other. It connects people at the pool at the in-between space which is void of buildings. A craftsman waterfall flowing water into the pool serves as a white noise generator. For easy-breezy indoor/ outdoor flow, the interior finish floor is flush with the exterior wood deck, landscaping and pool. Lavish openings along both sides allow cross-ventilation and passive air circulation throughout the building.
If there is appetite for more open space, the rooftop offers a hot tub and views over the entire neighborhood. This rooftop feature along with the second-story balcony, allows for more than 100% of the site to be used as open space.
Finishes: The materials used are as raw and natural as possible. All countertops, sinks, wall tiles, water fountain tiles and fireplace perimeter are locally sourced and fabricated for the project. The entire interior and exterior color chart of the house consists of wood, gray polished concrete, white, black and red accent colors. The concrete slab-on-grade foundation has transparently shaped into flooring on the main level. This monochrome, smooth-polished concrete with low sheen sealer connects the entire floor.
This combination of wood on concrete has helped achieve a balance between warm and cold materials. There is a harmonious flow between opposites in both textures and forms; such as black-polished concrete versus natural gray-polished concrete, black charcoaled wood versus natural wood, and black paint versus white.

Category
Architecture Design
Tags
new construction
0 Likes