Mar Vista

Project Details

Project Description

This project was selected as an Honor winner in the 2024 Residential Architect Design Awards, Custom Home / 3,000 Square Feet or Less category.

On a secluded lot in West Los Angeles, the architects completely transformed a young family’s small post-war bungalow into a 2,700-square-foot contemporary home replete with spaces that promote outdoor living and, as a result, feel much more expansive and loftier. Largely constructed of concrete, wood, and glass, the house is organized around a series of beams running front to back, inside and out for visual continuity and the blurring of boundaries.

At the front of the house, the beams form a canopy above the path leading to the main entry point, where a full-height glass pivot door opens onto a central chamber. From here, visitors and dwellers have access to three distinct volumes: the children’s bedrooms, an ADU, and the common living space with the primary suite situated above. The open-plan living, dining, and kitchen spaces flow into each other and practically feel outdoor thanks to its glass box design: Save for the wood-paneled appliance wall in the kitchen area, the side walls are glazed floor-to-ceiling, slide completely open, and pocket away, and instead of a kitchen backsplash, the wall behind the sink is glazed from the countertop up. Since the beams run above the sliding glass wall tracks, the gaps between track and ceiling are glass-paneled as well, forming a sort of clerestory.

PROJECT CREDITS:
Project: Mar Vista House No. 1
Location: Los Angeles
Architect: Nick Hopson, AIA (principal), Klara Rodstrom (principal), Jennifer Bui (designer), Angel Firmalino (designer), Erik Tsurumaki (designer)
Construction End Date: 10/24
Size in Square Feet: 2,604 SF
Cost: $2.2M

Structural Engineer: IDG Engineering
General Contractor: Mallis Workshop
Landscape Architect: Studio Grey Green
Décor, partial consultation: Chloe Bidne

MATERIALS AND SOURCES:
Appliances: Miele, Blanco
Bathroom Fixtures: WaterMark, Duravit, Kohler, Catalano
Cabinets: Custom
Ceilings: Custom
Countertops: Stoneland
Energy source, including back-up source:
Exterior Wall Systems: Thermory
Fabrics and Finishes: Morrow Soft Goods
Kitchen fixtures: Vola
Lighting: Visual Comfort
Roofing: Duro-Last
Windows and Doors: Western Window Systems, TM Cobb, B&B, Turnstyle

Photo Credit: Tim Hirschmann