Adelaide

The Adelaide residence, built in 1991, is situated on a dramatic bluff at the entrance of Santa Monica Canyon. The project was built on the original footprint of an existing 2,800 square foot house, retaining 90% of its walls. A 900 square foot master perch was added at the second floor.

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Curved white walls and a rhythmic stockade of rectangular stucco columns at the facade are a contemporary interpretation of the adobe walls, that in Spanish Colonial buildings figuratively protect the mystery within. Plantings red bougainvillea and queen palms form a garden gateway, and the layered and circular arrangement of eucalyptus tress lead the eye to the canyon beyond. 

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In order to liberate space and visually expand the 9,000 square foot site, many of the interior walls were eliminated by installing steel beams, while significantly minimizing exterior walls in order to take advantage of the continually changing natural theatre of the canyon, sea and mountains

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As a transitional element between public and private space, the entry features a Japanese garden of pebbles, bamboo, water and California flora. Beyond the entry, the expansive interior is designed as a hacienda courtyard with a Modernist open plan, creating an urban oasis, alive with light and shadow. Clerestory windows above the breakfast nook, bathe the kitchen in morning light while the blue tile on exterior walls dissolves the entire building into the sky. Traditional materials such as unpainted interior plaster, exterior stucco and chiseled stone floors are juxtaposed against a contemporary curtain of metal and glass.