Form first, function second?

Remember those '50s cars where great style wasn't restricted by the engine shape? Well this sleek home also puts good looks first

Exterior front view. Photography by Renee Parkhurst

Kitchen & staircase. Photo credit – Paul Vu.

Living Room. Photo credit – Yuheng Huang.

Staircase. Photo credit – Paul Vu. - Form

Elevator. Photo credit – Paul Vu. - Form

Master bedroom. Photo credit – Paul Vu. -

Master bathroom. Photo credit – Paul Vu. -

Exterior rear view. Photography by Renee Parkhurst

Designed by Arisha Architects

From the architects:

The home is perched on a hilltop in the Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Los Angeles basin.

The project gently lands a dynamic building on top of a buried podium that replicates the natural topography that existed prior to the area being subdivided for development.

This hollow post-war neighbourhood has been transforming gradually, overtaken by recent developments that rely on size, rather than spatial quality.

The concept set out to reduce the massing of a rather large project in order for it to lodge within the neighbourhood proportionally.

It proposes an alternative model within the confines of stringent regulations.

The project engages an exercise in spatial relationships to accelerate the programs of the house.

It utilises the split-level design to follow the topography of the hill, and to connect the floor half-storey plates.

The plates form adjacencies, both visual and functional, thus allowing twice the utility of an otherwise compartmentalised organisation.

The project’s aesthetic was directed by streamline automotive design which proposed concealed performance for every technology in the house.

The interior palette was based on a utilitarian approach to materials, in contrast to the overall ambient approach of the design where space was optimised over necessity.

This balance of power proceeded in the backdrop of environmental sensitivity and the avoidance of a clinical feel.

A courtyard, created by daylighting the lower bedrooms from the buried podium, also acts as the rainwater runoff filtration system for the entire site.

The project meets or exceeds stringent California green building and energy conservation standards such as low-flow plumbing systems, drought tolerant planting, rainwater filtration, photovoltaic integration, high efficiency building envelope and glazing, HERS rating of the mechanical system, and more.

Indoor materials specified were sourced naturally and are compliant with Low VOC standards.

The design palette was kept minimal to an all natural selection including mica plaster, hardwood flooring, and natural stone.

The architects sought out minimal, low-impact, and proven materials, achieving a balance between durability, ease of maintenance, and responsible design.

The project has won 18 international design awards.