CXC
a r c h i t e c t sPacific Palisades, CA
Architecture, Construction, Landscape
The project consists of a pair of platforms and a pair of containers, situated in and on an east-facing ground plane that slopes toward the ocean. The south and west edges of the lower platform, an auto/sport court, are set into the slope, wrapped by a concrete retaining wall and a ramp to the upper platform. To the north, a steel and glass container enclosing a studio/guest house perches above the platform on four columns. The covered outdoor space/carport below is wrapped by a scrim of curtains and frames a view to the mountains.
Forming the primary indoor and outdoor living spaces of the project, the upper platform is cut into the hill on two sides, and projects out of the hill and over the planted roof. Glass walls, both fixed and sliding, wrap the main living level and natural concrete floors further blur the line between inside and out. Kitchen equipment is on legs lifted above the floor, and furniture is on wheels for flexible rearrangement.
The upper container, sitting on a grid of sixteen round columns and rotated toward the ocean view, also forms the ceiling of the living space. This container is wrapped in translucent white polycarbonate, punctuated by deep windows. In it, a series of discreet rooms wrap a central skylit void.