This luxurious hillside home was designed by SAOTA in collaboration with WOODS+DANGARAN, located above Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The home is set on a prominence, just one over from the landmark Stahl House, a modernist-style home designed by architect Pierre Koenig, known as a frequent set location in American films.
The site is a 20,000 square foot estate, showcasing 300-degree views over the LA skyline and the city basin below, and the design was conceived of more as a self-contained oasis rather than a conventional house.
Project Team: Lead Designers: SAOTA | Architect of Record: WOODS+DANGARAN | Project Manager: Park Lane Projects | Contractor: Fortis Development | Landscaping: Chris Sosa | Lighting Design: Lux Populi | Interior Designer: MASS Beverly | Furnished by: MASS Beverly & Minotti LA | Artwork: Creative Art Partners | Property Agents: Oppenheim Group & Bond Street Partners
The Stahl House served as a key point of departure. The forms and articulation of Hillside’s roof planes, which were pushed as far forward as possible so that they could create meaningful external covered living spaces, set its architecture in dialogue with the iconic silhouette nearby and connect it to the drama of its context.
The projecting eaves and soffits create a “fifth” façade proved fortuitous in creating a sense of identity because the wraparound perimeter views necessitated the carefully controlled placement of solid walls and extensive use of glass to maximise the panoramic potential of the site. Consequently, the architecture is defined through the floating, overlapping horizontal floor and roof plates curating specific view axes rather than mass walls or external structure.
The steep approach from below resulted in a dramatic entrance through a top-lit central atrium – rising via a 12-car underground garage and an indoor waterfall cascading into a courtyard – before surfacing into the centre of the living level in a dramatic moment of revelation as a dead-on view of downtown LA opens up.
The designed of this luxurious hillside home is arranged around the LA skyline view, loosely forming two wings, one oriented east-west, and the other north-south. The largely open-plan interior, in the absence of mass walls, has been articulated vertically and through volumetric changes to rationalise the layout.
References to modernist construction techniques are picked up in the articulation of the steel columns and the sensuous and tactile use of timber and limestone on the floors and wall, which is carried extensively throughout the interior and exterior detailing. Some of the identifying features such as the cut-outs in the roof have been reprised in the detailing of the interior ceilings to add interest.
In keeping with SAOTA’s extensive experience in developing seamless indoor/outdoor open-plan living spaces appropriate to their base in Cape Town, South Africa, where the Mediterranean climate and topography are very similar to that in LA, they conceived of the programme as a series of living rooms connected to extensive covered outdoor terraces.
These outdoor spaces are in turn enclosed by a vast undulating infinity pool and lush landscaping along the perimeter, subtly screening neighbouring properties (and ensuring their privacy) with climbing ficus trees.
In keeping with the principles taken from the Stahl House and the ground-breaking Los Angeles Case Study Houses, which were built between 1945 and 1966, the generous allocation of outdoor space maximises the potential of the liveable climate, reconnecting contemporary LA architecture with a somewhat lost aspect of its modernist heritage.
What We Love: This luxurious hillside home was designed to maximize its magnificent views, featuring a seamless indoor-outdoor flow with very few walls. The building envelope is defined by floating, overlapping horizontal floor and roof plates that produce specific views over the LA skyline. Overall, this sumptuous home offers striking design features, stylish furnishings and fabulous outdoor living areas that are complimented with jaw-dropping views!
Tell Us: What are your thoughts on the overall aesthetics of this structure? Let us know in the Comments below!
Note: Have a look at a couple of our favorite home tours that we have featured here on One Kindesign from the portfolio of the architects of this project, SAOTA: Spectacular modern dream home on the island of Ibiza and Brilliantly designed South African home with magnificent ocean views.
Photos: Adam Letch
One Kindesign has received this project from our submissions page. If you have a project you would like to submit, please visit our submit your work page for consideration!
0 comments