Laurel Canyon Residence
For an art collector and furniture dealer in Los Angeles, DOES Architecture was tasked to bring a decent -but somewhat ordinary - mid-century modern house in the Nichols Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles up to the level of the owner’s interiors (by noted designer Gary Hutton), his art collection (featuring work by prominent LGBT+, women, and BIPOC artists) and his wardrobe (Dries van Noten, Comme De Garcon, and more). The renovation seeks to elevate the architecture, yet make the house “disappear”, so that nature, art, and people (the owner entertains on a grand scale) take prominence.
Small French door and punched windows are replaced with expansive sliding doors and windows, which open to create connections to the front court and rear yard and allow guests to flow freely around the property. By meeting the solid side walls directly, with no solid corners, the glazed areas allow light to spill uninterrupted across large wall areas suitable for significant works of art. The bedroom core is reconfigured so that the den and principal bedroom are accessed through an abstracted cut-out sheathed in floor to ceiling wood panels. Open, the concealed hinge doors reveal intimate spaces lined with new cabinetry and closets that compliment the existing casework. A new gym is located at the back of the house, with storage for equipment and a large, tall wall for a gallery-style art installation. The guest bath is reconfigured and features tradilakt plaster walls, stone lined niches, and ultra-suede panels in the dry areas to suggest the lining of a luxurious traveling case.
At the back of the property, new board-formed integrally colored black concrete retaining walls create space for an entertainment area sheltered by a cantilevered wood and metal pergola, which looks over a new lap pool. Broad steps at one end of the pool create a procession from the house seamlessly through wide open doors to the raised pool deck, while a secondary stair on the opposite end provides service circulation and access to the pool equipment hidden below. A floating slab provides pool-size seating for outdoor dinner parties.
All house systems will be upgraded for energy efficiency and climate resiliency. Glass doors and windows will be thermally-broken aluminum, with argon-filled double pane low-E glass, and the building envelope will be sealed from heat and draft by means of spray-foam insulation throughout. A new 12 kw PV system with battery back-up will offset regular energy use and provide emergency power in the event of a blackout, while electric pumps will allow the pool to be used as a water source in case of fire. New high efficacy plumbing fixtures, a pool cover, and low-water, drought-tolerant landscaping will reduce water use. New gallery-grade lighting will be high-efficacy programmable LED, and the heating and cooling system will employ high-efficiency heat pumps and a whole house fan with HEPPA filters for improved indoor air quality, even on days when local air quality is poor.
For an art collector and furniture dealer in Los Angeles, DOES Architecture was tasked to bring a decent -but somewhat ordinary - mid-century modern house in the Nichols Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles up to the level of the owner’s interiors (by noted designer Gary Hutton), his art collection (featuring work by prominent LGBT+, women, and BIPOC artists) and his wardrobe (Dries van Noten, Comme De Garcon, and more). The renovation seeks to elevate the architecture, yet make the house “disappear”, so that nature, art, and people (the owner entertains on a grand scale) take prominence.
Small French door and punched windows are replaced with expansive sliding doors and windows, which open to create connections to the front court and rear yard and allow guests to flow freely around the property. By meeting the solid side walls directly, with no solid corners, the glazed areas allow light to spill uninterrupted across large wall areas suitable for significant works of art. The bedroom core is reconfigured so that the den and principal bedroom are accessed through an abstracted cut-out sheathed in floor to ceiling wood panels. Open, the concealed hinge doors reveal intimate spaces lined with new cabinetry and closets that compliment the existing casework. A new gym is located at the back of the house, with storage for equipment and a large, tall wall for a gallery-style art installation. The guest bath is reconfigured and features tradilakt plaster walls, stone lined niches, and ultra-suede panels in the dry areas to suggest the lining of a luxurious traveling case.
At the back of the property, new board-formed integrally colored black concrete retaining walls create space for an entertainment area sheltered by a cantilevered wood and metal pergola, which looks over a new lap pool. Broad steps at one end of the pool create a procession from the house seamlessly through wide open doors to the raised pool deck, while a secondary stair on the opposite end provides service circulation and access to the pool equipment hidden below. A floating slab provides pool-size seating for outdoor dinner parties.
All house systems will be upgraded for energy efficiency and climate resiliency. Glass doors and windows will be thermally-broken aluminum, with argon-filled double pane low-E glass, and the building envelope will be sealed from heat and draft by means of spray-foam insulation throughout. A new 12 kw PV system with battery back-up will offset regular energy use and provide emergency power in the event of a blackout, while electric pumps will allow the pool to be used as a water source in case of fire. New high efficacy plumbing fixtures, a pool cover, and low-water, drought-tolerant landscaping will reduce water use. New gallery-grade lighting will be high-efficacy programmable LED, and the heating and cooling system will employ high-efficiency heat pumps and a whole house fan with HEPPA filters for improved indoor air quality, even on days when local air quality is poor.