Southern California Beach House
Malibu, California
1999 - 2001

Situated along a densely built section of the Pacific Coast Highway, this house fronts the Pacific Ocean to the south, a courtyard to the west, and the highway to the north. The courtyard provides a visual and spatial link between the entry and the ocean beyond. Like many courtyard buildings in southern California, the open space defines an exterior living room.

The path through the house begins at the glazed translucent north entry wall and into the courtyard between the Main House and Guest House. The two- story entrance provides a framed view through the living room to the ocean beyond and is transected by a second level glazed bridge and walkway.

On the east side of the entry and walkway are the private living areas. To the west, the public areas which open onto the courtyard. The double-height living room is the house’s pith, linking the enclosed spaces with the deck and ocean via a full-height wall of glass and sliding doors. Sunscreens and louvers are integrally designed with the façade to provide both transitional space between the house and terrace, and to shade the glazed surfaces from the sunlight.

The beams at the roof, located above the horizontal framing, express the structural rhythm and layering of components. This cadence is repeated with the joinery of the painted aluminum exterior wall panels and modular windows. The mass of the exterior plaster walls is juxtaposed to the transparent glazed facades, creating a mosaic of layers and materials. It is through this use of layering of materials and the enclosure walls as planes intersected by transparent surfaces, that the separation between inside and outside is blurred, and the spaces are linked.