16.368 Billeder af flerfarvet hus
Brooks + Scarpa ArchitectsThe Yin-Yang House is a net-zero energy single-family home in a quiet Venice, CA neighborhood. The design objective was to create a space for a large and growing family with several children, which would create a calm, relaxed and organized environment that emphasizes public family space. The home also serves as a place to entertain, and a welcoming space for teenagers as they seek social space with friends.
The home is organized around a series of courtyards and other outdoor spaces that integrate with the interior of the house. Facing the street the house appears to be solid. However, behind the steel entry door is a courtyard, which reveals the indoor-outdoor nature of the house behind the solid exterior. From the entry courtyard, the entire space to the rear garden wall can be seen; the first clue of the home’s spatial connection between inside and out. These spaces are designed for entertainment, and the 40 foot sliding glass door to the living room enhances the harmonic relationship of the main room, allowing the owners to host many guests without the feeling of being overburdened.
The tensions of the house’s exterior are subtly underscored by a 12-inch steel band that hews close to, but sometimes rises above or falls below the floor line of the second floor – a continuous loop moving inside and out like a pen that is never lifted from the page, but reinforces the intent to spatially weave together the indoors with the outside as a single space.
Scale manipulation also plays a formal role in the design of the structure. From the rear, the house appears to be a single-story volume. The large master bedroom window and the outdoor steps are scaled to support this illusion. It is only when the steps are animated with people that one realizes the true scale of the house is two stories.
The kitchen is the heart of the house, with an open working area that allows the owner, an accomplished chef, to converse with friends while cooking. Bedrooms are intentionally designed to be very small and simple; allowing for larger public spaces, emphasizing the family over individual domains. The breakfast room looks across an outdoor courtyard to the guest room/kids playroom, establishing a visual connection while defining the separation of uses. The children can play outdoors while under adult supervision from the dining area or the office, or do homework in the office while adults occupy the adjacent outdoor or indoor space.
Many of the materials used, including the bamboo interior, composite stone and tile countertops and bathroom finishes are recycled, and reinforce the environmental DNA of the house, which also has a green roof. Blown-in cellulose insulation, radiant heating and a host of other sustainable features aids in the performance of the building’s heating and cooling.
The active systems in the home include a 12 KW solar photovoltaic panel system, the largest such residential system available on the market. The solar panels also provide shade from the sun, preventing the house from becoming overheated. The owners have been in the home for over nine months and have yet to receive a power bill.
Edgewater Design GroupThe family purchased the 1950s ranch on Mullet Lake because their daughter dreamed of being married on its shores. The home would be used for the wedding venue and then as a wedding gift to the young couple. We were originally hired in August 2014 to help with a simple renovation of the home that was to be completed well in advance of the August 2015 wedding date. However, thorough investigation revealed significant issues with the original foundation, floor framing and other critical elements of the home’s structure that made that impossible. Based on this information, the family decided to tear down and build again. So now we were tasked with designing a new home that would embody their daughter’s vision of a storybook home – a vision inspired by another one of our projects that she had toured. To capture this aesthetic, traditional cottage materials such as stone and cedar shakes are accentuated by more materials such as reclaimed barn wood siding and corrugated CORTEN steel accent roofs. Inside, interior finishes include hand-hewn timber accents that frame openings and highlight features like the entrance reading nook. Natural materials shine against white walls and simply furnished rooms. While the house has nods to vintage style throughout, the open-plan kitchen and living area allows for both contemporary living and entertaining. We were able to capture their daughter’s vision and the home was completed on time for her big day.
- Jacqueline Southby Photography
16.368 Billeder af flerfarvet hus
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