Project Description
2005 RADA
Custom / More Than 3,500 Square Feet / Merit
The jury dubbed this apartment building “dynamic and elegant.” For architect Stephen Kanner, FAIA, the challenge was to enliven and liberate the typical hermitically-sealed multifamily box. Paying tribute to Richard Neutra, whose legacy dots the surrounding L.A. landscape, he blurred indoor-outdoor boundaries with glazing. A delicate glass curtain wall thinly profiled in anodized aluminum brings in light and views, and recessed balconies and terraces open the building to the temperate climate. Balconies are a handy tool in Kanner’s architectural arsenal: “They break up solid walls with interesting compositions of reveals.” He further diminished the building’s horizontal scale “by recessing the base and creating a shadow line with blue mosaic tile.”
Open floor plans borrow views, natural light, and breezes from the expansive glazing. And Kanner made sure that partitioned areas such as bedrooms are large and inviting, with at least 11- or 12-foot widths. “The building has two lives,” he says. “During the day it’s more of an object with a lot of shadow and form, and at night it turns into a transparent jewel box.”