LA Residence

Los Angeles, California
Completed 2007

Architect: John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects
Structural Engineer: William Koh, William Koh and Associates, Inc.
Photography: Benny Chan, Fotowork

Silence:  Surrounded by stately residences in a variety of historical styles, this 5,300 square foot single family residence responds with a deceptively simple composition of volumes, voids, and screens. The balanced muscularity of the street facade presents a contemporary response to the formality and classicism of the adjacent structures. 

Outdoor Living:  The L-shaped ground floor includes a kitchen/family room wing that extends into the backyard garden.  Generously-sized terraces and large banks of sliding glass doors encourage year-round indoor-outdoor living.

Light and Space:  The emphasis on simplicity continues inside the structure, which employs a free plan animated by a floating staircase located between the foyer and living room.  Abundant use of natural light activates the interior spaces.   

Reduced Palette:  A reduced palette of light-colored materials (including exterior plaster walls, terrazzo floors, painted drywall, and quartz countertops) emphasizes the house’s natural light and free flowing spaces, as well as its simple, unfettered character.  These materials are accented with FSC-certified wood siding, screens, and floors