2022 Design Award Recipient – Page 2 – Archive for AIA California

Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center – Merit

October 6, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center

Architect: AUX Architecture

Project Location: Los Angeles, California

Photographer: Nic Lehoux

The Center is a remodel of and addition to a 1950s-era Temple located at the center of Vista Del Mar’s campus and was conceived and designed to be the home of Vista Del Mar’s innovative therapeutic performing arts program. The Center provides space for both learning and performing dance, music, and theatrical productions. Accessory spaces allow for production coordination, stage craft, dressing and changing, rehearsal, and classrooms.

”The design strategy to to wrap a new skin around the existing building created a beautiful structural form; the way it transitions between day and night is particularly successful.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

The building is designed as a series of vignettes that express motion, music, and movement. A semi-translucent façade wraps the structure and, in the evening, it transforms into a glowing heart at the center of campus. Besides adding a distinctive aesthetic, the highly durable polycarbonate façade is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic and can be recycled again at the end of its lifecycle. Directly behind the façade, a series of rhythmic columns create an interplay of light and shadow.

Design for Equitable Communities

Despite being located in the center of Los Angeles, the campus of Vista has largely gone unnoticed for the entirely of its existence as the work they do is largely confidential due to HIPPA law. The performance venue is both a place for students and residents of Vista but is also now offered to the larger performance community – musicians, dancers, actors – as a venue to use for their work. This unique opportunity to expose the history and mission of Vista to the outside world will allow the non-profit to increase the audience they are sharing their mission and vision to.

Design for Ecosystems

We were able to maintain the embodied carbon of existing building and structure. The façade made from recycled plastic and can be recycled once again at the end of its useful life. Finally, low-impact development (LID) principles are firmly in place for landscape and stormwater mitigation, and drought tolerant plants are used in the landscape.

Design for Water

Design for water consists of both indoor and outdoor State of California and City of Los Angeles Green Building measures. The indoor plumbing fixtures are designed for water efficiency and conservation and provide a 20% reduction in the overall building’s use of potable water. The project site is also designed to the City’s Low Impact Development and Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance guidelines. These mitigation measures ensure that any stormwater runoff on the project site, which consists of 7 tributary areas, are first captured by biofiltration planters followed by a treat and discharge process through the use of underground sump pumps that reduce the volume and intensity of runoff into the stormwater system. The hardscape areas for vehicular access provide a permeable asphalt which allows water to infiltrate into the soil.

Design for Economy

The project’s budget was limited to what the donor’s gift was. In certain instances, standard “off-the-shelf” products were used in lieu of custom or luxury finish options so that funds could be allocated towards more impactful design moments. High quality intensive use upholstery for the theater’s seating will last decades, wood grille panels with acoustic felt for the theater’s walls and ceiling add both natural materials and visual interest within the space, wood-sprung stage flooring and rehearsal space creates a safe platform for students and performers, and performance-specific stage surfaces can be placed on top of the stage to enhance the performance while protecting the stage.

Design for Energy

The performing arts center utilized 4,700 square feet of an existing building, which reduced the carbon footprint by approximately 100 metric tons of embodied CO2 (per Construction Carbon Calculator). Despite the added financial and schedule impacts, the decision to save materials and divert waste from landfills set a high bar for sustainability early on. The existing building was “wrapped” by and L-shaped addition that not only architecturally transformed the building but stabilized and insulated it.

The new façade is a modern polycarbonate skin that is 100% recyclable material made of 35% recycled plastic, allowing for daylighting to all accessory spaces and classrooms. An integrated LED lighting system reduces energy costs, low-flow water fixtures limit the use of potable water, and a high albedo roof deflects sunlight and reduces the overall building temperature. The building is designed to meet Cal Green requirements and has infrastructure for photovoltaic panels to be installed as budget permits.

Design for Well-being

The project’s mission was to design sustainable and environment for both students and the community that will experience it. The Center heavily emphasized the need to provide acoustically sound spaces, soft wall and ceiling textures in the theater, shock absorbent dance flooring for the stage and rehearsal room, a playful color palette throughout the building, sensible transitions from darker rooms to more naturally illuminated areas of the building, and various means of accessibility between the two floors and easy accessibility to the landscaped outdoor areas of the project. The Center’s shape and proportions are also designed to sensibly tie back to Vista Del Mar’s overall campus building scale and density.

Design for Resources

The Design Resources were heavily influenced and prioritized around the health of the students and their sense of awareness. The students can experience the importance of sustainable products, the finishes of the building, and the natural and diverse landscape throughout the site as well as the importance of the preservation of the existing Temple structure. Exterior materials were locally and nationally sourced to minimize carbon footprint. Besides adding a distinctive aesthetic, the highly durable polycarbonate façade is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic and can be recycled again at the end of its useful life.

Design for Change

This project is the home for a therapeutic arts program that supports the education and learning of students in grades Kindergarten through 12th that are autistic, non-communicative, or have experienced trauma and are progressing through their journey of healing. Designing an autonomous and resilient structure is beyond doubt a responsibility that we took extremely seriously. The project has been designed and engineered for energy and water conservation as well as environmental noise measures to increase its performance, and livability. To the best of the budget’s means, the materials are frugally selected and came from the principle of utilizing the most practical, adaptable and durable materials for survivability.

Design for Discovery

The Center and the team of professionals who guided the project to completion have formed a strong bond and relationship with each other, the Owner, and the end users of the facility. They continue to explore additional projects that will support the mission and vision of Vista Del Mar and their desire to integrate more fully with the surrounding community.

Kol Emeth – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

Kol Emeth

Architect: Field Architecture

Architect on Record: EID Architects

Project Location: Palo Alto, California

Photographer: Joe Fletcher

Congregation Kol Emeth’s new home fosters its community’s religious
practice while also embracing the natural world as a source of spiritual
wellbeing. Three interwoven structures contain a sanctuary, classrooms,
administrative and multi-purpose areas, and a native garden. The indoor and
outdoor spaces flow together seamlessly to physically and visually connect congregants
with their surroundings. Kol Emeth is the first LEED Platinum synagogue to also
be a Net Zero Energy and Net Zero Water Building for irrigation.

“Well detailed without being fussy. A beautiful building marrying a highly successful sustainable approach with materials creating rich, layered, textured spaces.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

The synagogue complex integrates high energy performance with natural materials and systems to create a finely-tuned spiritual experience. The organization of its three volumes—along with key design details such as skylights, clerestories, and sliding glass walls—enhance daylighting and minimize heat gain. Project components were fabricated offsite, minimizing the construction footprint and construction waste. Recycled and reclaimed materials reduce the building’s embodied energy. Surface water is collected and biofiltered, and solar energy is harvested.

Design for Equitable Communities

Kol Emeth sustainability strategy began with site and connectivity. Out of 5 alternate locations researched, the existing lot was selected for its connection to existing pedestrian and bicycle networks.

Skylights, clerestories, and full length sliding glass partition walls, create an environment which includes the outdoors in indoor functions, and provides a connection the surrounding environment in every space of the building.

A street facing promenade garden traverses the length of the building’s primary façade. The garden places a working natural system along the entire length of the building, which functions as an integral outer-layer of the building, and an invitation to the extended community to leave the car at home and walk.

Design for Ecosystems

The footprint of the building was optimized to house parking underneath the above grade developed surfaces, maximizing retention of native soil and removing no trees. This also allowed elimination of parking heat island effect and contaminated surface runoff. Surface water shed is biofiltered, and collected for an eco-balanced native garden and soil mix that restores the natural ecology of the region and fosters pollenating songbirds, animals, and insects. A street facing promenade garden traverses the length of the building’s primary façade. The garden places a working natural system along the entire length of the building, which functions as an integral outer-layer of the building.

Design for Water

The building employs a comprehensive rainwater catchment system. Native landscape is designed based on rain water harvesting and gray water catchment yield for a net zero irrigation landscape.

Design for Economy

A restrictive budget for the fully fund-raised building required innovative solutions early in the design process and disciplined follow through during development. The rigor of the process began with the selection of the site. Several sites were evaluated, and ultimately, the decision was made to build on the existing building site despite its stringent size limitations. This demanded that right sizing the buildings look to creative spatial configurations in order to accommodate the changing needs of the community.

Building economy was incorporated into the design thinking from its inception. Strategic thinking behind the fabrication, assembly, building sequence, and timing allowed the double benefit of stable costs and controlled timeline – allowing the control of two volatile elements in today’s construction market.

Design for Energy

The building is Net Zero Energy, harvesting solar energy through a 136kW Photovoltaic system, which in addition to providing power for the buildings accommodates installed EV charging for 25% of all stalls, and infrastructure allowing expansion to 90% of all stalls. Strategically placed skylights allow for the re-purposing of parking space to programmed play, learning, and flexible spaces, designed and issued as part of the project documentation.

The material strategy for the building looks to reuse, reclaim, and reduce embodied energy and carbon footprint. Recycled re-bar, fly ash concrete, advanced framing, and OSB Structurally Insulated Panels were used as the building’s primary structural materials. The structure is insulated on the interior and exterior faces. Interior ceilings are lined with renewable woven hemp ceiling panels, over which timber slats are hung to modulate daylight from the skylights above, while creating a dappled light show that enlivens the spaces of congregation, and expands awareness of the movement of the sun.

Design for Well-being

As the first synagogue in the world to achieve LEED Platinum, net zero energy, and net zero water, Kol Emeth is designed for the well being of its users. Structure and skin are fabricated and finished off-site to reduce footprint and waste. Air quality, daylight, and views were used as design drivers.

Orientation and apertures are calibrated for optimal daylighting and solar gain control. Skylights, clerestories, and full length sliding glass partitions, create an environment which includes the indoor/outdoors functions, and provides a connection to the surrounding environment and views from every space of the building.

Design for Resources

The material strategy for Kol Emeth looks to reuse, reclaim, and reduce embodied energy and carbon footprint. Recycled steel, fly ash concrete, advanced framing, and Structurally Insulated Panels were used as the building’s structural materials. Interior ceilings are lined with renewable hemp panels, and timber slats are hung to modulate daylight from skylights above, while creating a dappled light that enlivens the spaces, and expands awareness of the movement of the sun.

Five North American weather-resistant wood species comprise the façade lattice. The timbers are reclaimed “shorts” – wood pieces too short for the mills to sell, and timber downed by wildfires, many of which were diverted from landfill. Local & regional material sourcing, natural weather resistant materials, low carbon concrete, and recycled glass cast countertops are among a number of the strategies employed in reducing environmental impact.

Design for Change

Since Kol Emeth’s completion in 2020, the congregation has increased its programming substantially, and has seen a significant increase in membership. The design was posed with an unprecedented challenge with changing social engagement patterns brought about by the global pandemic almost concurrently with its opening days. With flexibility, contiguous indoor outdoor programming, and cross-functionality at the core of its design, the building use was adjusted and a new modus operandi developed that provided an enduring sense of connection when it was needed most.

Rising mean temperatures and extreme weather events were designed for using a hyper-insulated envelope, well beyond code minimum. Together with strategic aperture sizing and orientation, glass and shading, the building provides for a passive moderation of temperature extremes – creating a high level of thermal comfort without reliance on mechanical systems.

Innovative security mitigation strategies were used throughout relying not only on technological solutions but also on analogue and social strategies. Entrances and exits are places in proximity to gathering spaces with direct visual connection so that community members can monitor safety. Security bollards on the street side of the building were avoided by the use of carefully placed landscape boulders integrated into the edge of the community garden.

Design for Discovery

Beyond full systems commissioning, all project constituents were incorporated into the design process from the earliest stages. This resulted in a strong feeling of ownership and personal and collective investment in the successful realization of an ambitious design.

Post occupancy surveys have been conducted regularly, adaptations made when needed, and each validates the success of the project further. Given the high level of flexibility that the project was designed for, some initial challenges for the best use of the spaces came to light in the early days of the building’s occupancy. These challenges require ongoing experience design and architectural involvement in facility programming. The adaptations made to the programming not only optimized use of the spaces, but given the unique nature of the indoor / outdoor flexibility, also resulted in unexpected and innovative programming that was well received by the community.

Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Project Location: Los Angeles, California

Photographer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

The School of Film and Television (SFTV) is a four-story jewel box-like building, hosting stop-motion and camera-directing studios, technical labs for post-production and animation, flexible all-purpose classrooms, office spaces, and an 80-seat theater. Clad in a perforated brise-soleil, the building makes the most of LA’s climate, offering shaded outdoor circulation and gathering spaces. The theater, clad in matte metallic panels, activates the ground level. Canary yellow furnishings accentuate the theater’s rooftop and courtyard gardens.

‘”Very compelling resolution on a tight budget. The façade treatment is subtle, elegant and inspires active engagement by the users.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

The SFTV is a campus focal point, that promotes environmental and human health with ample outdoor space, and active design. By placing all circulation and student lounge space on the exterior of the building, the design reduced the area requiring air distribution by 40%, ultimately yielding exceptionally low HVAC demand. In addition to the 9,500 square feet of passing space and cafe-style seating, the building boasts two areas that function as outdoor classrooms.

Design for Equitable Communities

LMU’s student community will benefit from the social spaces and theater. While LMU is a private campus, they frequently hold public and community events which the theater and pre-function courtyard was designed to accommodate.

Loyola Marymount University operates a private bus system to and from the adjacent communities to reduce dependence on personal vehicles.

Design for Ecosystems

In an effort to restore the regional ecosystem, native plantings were used throughout the landscaping. The project increased the number of trees on the site, planting more than removed during construction.

Outdoor classrooms and outdoor circulation encourage connection to the local ecosystem while minimizing the need for conditioned spaces. By placing 9,500 square feet of passing space and cafe-style seating outside, the design reduced the area requiring air distribution by 40%.

Design for Water

The SFTV Building is outfitted with a greywater drainage system that deposits into a pipe system that is connected to a campuswide greywater system that is under-development.

All plantings were low-water and drought tolerant. A drip irrigation system provides the minimum amount of water needed to feed the plantings on the terrace and surrounding grounds.

This project has a negligible hot water load, making a central service hot water system unnecessary.

Design for Economy

The dense Audio Visual teaching program with its typical high energy demand and cooling requirements, was offset by a sustainable building envelope, passive cooling strategies and optimized mechanical systems which yielded a very high performing, yet cost effective, building.

Design for Energy

The Energy Use Intensity is 21.9 kBtu/sf considering the total building area, considering only the conditioned area the EUI is 34.0 kBtu/sf. A modern variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system was selected for its zone-specific optimization benefits

The lighting strategy for the building reduced the Light Power Density (LPD) to .57 Watts per square foot. This is nearly half of the California T-24 allowable LPD. LPD reductions yielded a savings of ~18,000 kWh/yr against the ASHRAE Baseline.

Design for Well-being

Courtyard spaces and breezeways provide students with sustained access to the outdoors year-round while external circulation provides crucial access to daylight and natural ventilation. These outdoor spaces deliver options of how and where one can learn, teach and recharge. When needed, these spaces support pandemic safety compliance by offering open-air programmed space. In addition, these outdoor areas are prime examples of biophilic design that provide direct access to nature nearly year round.

Design for Resources

A structural embodied carbon LCA was conducted, and the result is 246 kg CO2/m2. The post-tensioned slab thickness tapers in the cantilevered portions of the building to reduce the amount of concrete used.

Material selections were made based on need and performance. The structural slab was utilized as the finish floor material in all circulation zones. A conscious effort was made to select materials that had an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification.

Design for Change

A basic tenant of the clients design brief was that the building must be adaptable to future uses. By analyzing the clients preferred teaching modules across all of their programs, a set of space modules were used to organize and stack the program. The classroom modules accommodate LMU’s typical class size for any department and are coupled with robust storage. Furniture selections are consistent and mobile; they can be quickly reconfigured, or relocated to other rooms or storage.

Design for Discovery

Extensive time spent on campus experiencing the culture and frequently meeting with the client group (faculty, staff and students) has proven to address many issues, quantitative and qualitative, above and beyond the given scope of the project. The end result is much more than an academic classroom building.The final project gives staff, faculty and students options of how they want to teach, learn and recharge. It has become a social hub for the university at large.

MacLac Building D – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

MacLac Building D

Architect: Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects with PLAD Peter Logan Architecture and Design

Project Location: San Francisco, California

Photographer: Bill Hustace Photography

This project is the adaptive reuse of a historic brick structure occupied by various quasi-industrial functions. The renovation focuses on razing the maze resulting from a century-plus accretion of ad hoc partitions, random levels, and obsolete industrial equipment installations; exposing a previously hidden, magnificent volume of the building; repairing and refurbishing the original materials and features; reinforcing the building with 21^st Century steel seismic elements, and bringing extra natural lights and open space.

”This handsome adaptive reuse project shows a well resolved and elegant seismic solution.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

The innovative steel ‘king post’ truss, perforated steel frames, and suspended Cross Laminated Timber partial second-floor structural design allow the building’s geometry and original wood and masonry to clearly read while providing seismic safety and additional leasable floor area. LEED v.4 Gold Certification building design aspects of the project are achieved in the areas of HVAC, recyclable and non-toxic materials, water-saving fixtures, abundant daylighting including skylight and windows, and high albedo roofing.

Design for Equitable Communities

In addition to exterior upgrades including new trees, sidewalk, crosswalks, etc. the community’s usability of the building is thanks to the structure’s full seismic upgrade which is visible only from the interior. A major seismic component is a cross laminated timber mezzanine structure suspended from highly refined king-post steel trusses.

The benefits of this project are a cleaner, more vibrant and safer neighborhood and the stimulation of economic vitality through job creation resulting from the metamorphosis of a decrepit, vacant shell into a seismically safe, architecturally upgraded building whose functions will both serve and provide jobs to the community.

Design for Ecosystems

The project has a high percentage of natives, but are also expected to be mixed with non-natives to meet tenant aesthetic expectations.

The landscape design of this project contributes to a healthy environment and ecosystem. The plant palette consists of many drought tolerant and California native plant species such as: Arctostaphylos ‘La Panza’ (Grey Manzanita), Carex tumulicola (Foothill Sedge), Epilobium canum (California Fuschia), Ceanothus ‘Yankee Point’, and many more. California native trees surrounding the site like the Arbutus ‘Marina’ provides habitat to birds. The bio-diverse selection of plants provide forage and refuge to hummingbirds, bees, moths, and many species of local pollinators throughout the seasons. The landscape at the ground level and the roof level delivers layers of benefits for the local ecosystem.

Design for Water

The project is a small sized adaptive reuse interior building renovation without a roof terrace, so there is no rainwater collection and storage. The site of the building goes from property line to property line, so there is no irrigation. There is only one 63 square feet ADA restroom inside the building using non -recyclable water. It is possible to reuse grey/blackwater inside the building due to different occupant.

Design for Economy

This project is designed to far surpass the standard level of adaptive reuse for functional objectives. It aims to create an architecturally uplifting atmosphere and historically responsible improvements, while simultaneously achieving numerous technical goals of energy efficiency, state of the art seismic resistance, environmental sustainability and ADA compliance. The innovative steel ‘king post’ truss, perforated steel frames, and suspended Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) partial second floor structural design allow the building’s geometry and original wood and masonry to clearly read while providing seismic safety and additional leasable floor area.

Design for Energy

LEED v.4 C+S Gold Certification aspects of the project are achieved in the areas of heating / ventilating / air conditioning, recyclable and non-toxic building materials, water saving fixtures, abundant daylighting (skylight and windows), high albedo roofing, accessibility to public transportation.

By using California’s Title 24-2019 for code compliance and ASHRAE 90.1-2010 for LEEDv4 C+S., both Code Compliance and Performance Models were performed.

To achieve higher levels of energy efficiency, the electric lighting is grouped into different zones which correspond to primary and secondary daylight harvesting zones (as defined in Title 24).
All light fixtures are equipped with full range dimming drivers and connected to dimming controls. Upon signal from the daylight sensors located throughout the various spaces, the drivers adjust the lighting to compensate for the amount of daylight penetrating the zone. The dynamic range of the drivers are 100%-1% and the system is capable of continuous dimming. Thus, as the daylight condition changes the system responds and changes to adjust the overall balance of light to appropriate ratios. In this way maximum energy efficiency is attained at any one time.

Design for Well-being

A major seismic component is a cross laminated timber mezzanine structure suspended from highly refined king-post steel trusses. Adding to the building’s usability by the community and visitors are completely new electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems.

The community will appreciate the types of uses and tenants that would avail themselves of this project’s design. A 60-foot-long skylight along the roof ridge daylights the formerly dark interior. Other modern insertions enhance the interior architecture and function: guardrails at and open stair of perforated metal at and to the mezzanine, European Oak mezzanine flooring; LED lit brick walls, wood slat ceilings.

Design for Resources

The project is using an existing historic building rather than building from the ground up. The resulting reduction in demolition waste as well as the reduction in carbon emissions from eliminated new structural and envelope materials is very significant. These reduction impacts are able to be quantified but those calculations are not currently intended.

We repurposed the old heavy timber top chords of trusses as spacers between steel channel top chords of symmetrical king post trusses on each side of the existing trusses, the new steel channel encapsulates the existing timber top chords leaving the bottom surface of the historic wood exposed.
Once the rods joining the two sides were installed, they could be tightened to adjust the height of the ridge assisting with aligning and leveling the old roof, and existing web members and bottom chords of the trusses could be removed leaving the light and elegant news trusses.

CLT floor slabs, designed for 100 psf assembly loading, form a mezzanine suspended by hanger rods dropped down from the kingpost nodes on the roof trusses, leaving a column-free lower level with an open center area that allows light from the new skylight to reach the entire lower level.

Design for Change

We rejuvenated and repurposed a 1906 warehouse to last another 100 years. The seismic resisting system for the rejuvenated building is an ultra-stiff moment frame system consisting of deep columns and beams formed with HSS acting as flanges and perforated steel plate acting as webs accommodating the punched windows on the long sides of the buildings, combined with stiff concentric braced frames on the gabled ends of the building.

All light fixtures are equipped with full range dimming drivers and connected to dimming controls. Upon signal from the daylight sensors located throughout the various spaces, the drivers adjust the lighting to compensate for the amount of daylight penetrating the zone. The dynamic range of the drivers are 100%-1% and the system is capable of continuous dimming. Thus, as the daylight condition changes the system responds and changes to adjust the overall balance of light to appropriate ratios. In this way maximum energy efficiency is attained at any one time.

Design for Discovery

The building is completed in May, 2022 and it haven’t been occupied yet, that why there is no post occupancy evaluation or occupant satisfaction survey conducted. But we will pay attention on the building usage in future and make improvement if needed. Generally, we hold meetings with clients and use questionnaire to collect needs and questions from clients/users to ensure the good condition of building and satisfaction of occupant.
A major seismic component is a cross laminated timber mezzanine structure suspended from highly refined king-post steel trusses. The benefits of this project are a cleaner, more vibrant and safer neighborhood and the stimulation of economic vitality through job creation resulting from the metamorphosis of a decrepit, vacant shell into a seismically safe, architecturally upgraded building whose functions will both serve and provide jobs to the community.

Mar Vista – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

Mar Vista

Architect: Woods + Dangaran

Project Location: Los Angeles, California

Photographer: Joe Fletcher

The façade of this home is modern and mysterious, an intimation of the spaces that lie beyond the solid privacy wall and the rhythm of the slender cedar louvers. The house capitalizes on its hilltop site with extensive al fresco living spaces and striking views from all rooms. Meticulously detailed and masterfully crafted, the natural materials palette of concrete, wood, and metal complements the setting and inspires the highly textural interior design.

“A handsome and elegant house utilizing a well rounded approach to design excellence.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

This home frames expansive views while placing emphasis on privacy and sophistication. Sequenced spaces carve out moments of serenity and transition. Louvers cast linear shadow through interior corridors and regulate the natural light. A curated and timeless palette is used throughout the home and will patina well over time. Energy efficient design strategies (such as water wise strategies, solar panels, and drought tolerant plantings) are seamlessly integrated into the design concept.

Design for Equitable Communities

The central concept of this home considers the history of the area, the west coast context, the design of the homes in the area, and the community itself. The residence takes optimal advantage of the sloping terrain, sunlight, and views, and to provide a private retreat for the occupants. A minimalistic exterior elevates the neighborhood context and promotes a serene atmosphere while still providing a glimpse at the home beyond the privacy wall. Exterior landscaping softens the exterior and promotes a lovely, walkable neighborhood.

Design for Ecosystems

Integrated landscape is essential to this home. Visible from nearly every room, all landscaping is primarily native or drought-tolerant plantings. Forming and L and looking inward, the property priorities outdoor space. Occupants can access or view greenery from every room – front, central and side yards make it simple. Along with a surround of hedges, the form of the home buffers the occupants against environmental noise from neighbors and the city. Floor to ceiling drapery and interior plaster also soften interior reverb and dampen noise in the heavily glazed hallways.

Design for Water

On a slight grade, stormwater is managed and collected on this site. While primarily native and low water use plantings are used in the landscaping, graywater is used for the irrigating needs that remain. The interior of the home is plumbed for future graywater use and low-flow fixtures are installed throughout.

Design for Economy

The owners of this home invested in a curated and timeless palette and a limited number of finish materials are used throughout the home. Materials used outdoors were selected so that they will wear or patina well over time – cedar louvers and siding, concrete, ipe wood decking, and plaster.

Design for Energy

To increase the energy efficiency of this home, we utilized many combined strategies. Radiant heat on both floors and passive cooling strategies – pocketing doors, louver and drapery shielded glazing – balance one another. Balanced, natural light eliminated the need for artificial lighting throughout most of the day. Solar panels provide electricity to the home, and solar hot water panels heat water for both the home and the pool. Rainwater is collected onsite to irrigate the plantings, though most are drought tolerant. The home is also plumbed for future graywater use.

Design for Well-being

The design supports physical and psychological wellbeing in a number of ways. A swimming pool, sport court (with a basketball hoop and a hockey goal), sauna, and a dog run encourage exercise. A healthy connection to nature is found throughout the home; from nearly every room one can see or step out to greenery. The fully-pocketing doors of the great room open to an outdoor dining room and herb garden and a backyard. The floors have radiant heat and every room has operable windows and drapery, giving occupants full control over their thermal comfort.

Design for Resources

Our primary strategy regarding resources was to simplify the palette throughout the home. All lumber on this project was all natural and zero-VOC in material and finish. Western red cedar was used in louvers, siding, and ceilings throughout the first floor. Casework, flooring, and plasters are also consistent from room to room. Materials selected – concrete, grey-stained cedar, stone – will have a long life and will patina well over the lifespan of the building.

Design for Change

Seismic activity poses the greatest risk to this site, and all structural and foundational elements were built to code with durable materials to mitigate this risk as much as possible. Survivable Strategies are handled by the homeowners regarding safety protocols and the use of water and food storage systems.

Design for Discovery

This project allowed for us to engage with new design techniques. Such as using rain screen detailing and utilizing plaster on both the exterior and interior. We also added new parapet detail, to make skylight flush with the roof, a new critical detail that we now incorporate into every project. These are small details that contribute to a clean and polished design. Walking through the home you’re going to feel the quality of this work and the attention to detail. These new approaches of craft have been shared and practiced among the firm.

SoFi Stadium and Entertainment District – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award & special commendation: design for water

SoFi Stadium and Entertainment District

Architect: HKS Architects, Inc.

Project Location: Inglewood, California

Photographers: Kevin Korczyk and Nick Lehoux

Home to NFL games for the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium plays host to sporting events, live performances, opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics and community events. An outdoor plaza ties the stadium and adjacent YouTube Theater together. The stadium is open-air, while fully covered by a transparent roof that opens and closes on demand. Cutting-edge technologies are integrated throughout, including the dual-sided Infinity video board that redefines the live entertainment experience.

”A catalyst in a blighted area – it is so much more than a football stadium. From the landscape approach to the master plan knitting it into the community, it is very successful.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

SoFi’s design is informed by Southern California’s industry, architecture, lifestyle, climate, geography and landscape, combining to create an authentic Southern California expression. The sweeping coastline and the beauty and strength of the Pacific Ocean contribute to the clean and dramatic curves of the stadium’s unmistakable architecture that reflects the region’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle. The stadium’s translucent roof, seating bowl, concourses and landscape were sculpted to create an outdoor feel while providing the flexibility of a traditional domed stadium.

Design for Equitable Communities

At the start of the project, Inglewood had a troubling crime rate, high unemployment, failing school system. By 2011, the city was on the path to bankruptcy. It was a city devoid of hope with no aspiration for the future,” said Butts, Inglewood Mayor. This year, fewer murders have been committed in Inglewood than in Santa Monica or Pasadena. Unemployment dropped from 17.5 percent in 2011 to 4.7 percent in 2019. Finally, this largely minority community of 110,000 is climbing back to its feet. HKS supported community outreach programs in the neighborhood including ACE Mentorship at a local high school.

Design for Ecosystems

The site was adapted from the Hollywood Park Racetrack, an increasingly obsolete land use regarded as unsustainable, SoFi Stadium serves as linchpin for a major urban campus that restores and revitalizes natural ecosystems. Limits to ecological restoration — due to climate change, impermeability, heat island, and air/water quality issues — led to non-traditional solutions, including cultivating a Mediterranean biome to restore habitat. Characterized by wide arrays of plantings and shrubs suited to hot, dry summers and frost-free winters, the Mediterranean biome offers many native species and convergent evolution (e.g., trees to adapted to survive wildfires). In keeping with its Southern California environs, SoFi stadium’s landscape includes highly diverse, low-maintenance plant ecologies with 5,000 trees including desert Palm and Joshua trees, sycamores found along arroyos, and mountain evergreens. Arranged in various microclimate zones around the stadium park, this rich biodiverse habitat serves regional warblers, monarch butterflies, honeybees and hundreds of other species along with shrubs, groundcovers, wetlands and meadows. Supporting wildlife and human ecosystems, a 6-acre lake treats stormwater and serves irrigation needs. Together, these ecological services build resilience and will increase as the landscape matures, creating a public resource and veritable museum of the biome’s diversity.

Design for Water

The 300-acre site uses holistic strategies for water conservation. The parks and open spaces are performative landscapes collecting, filtering pollutants, and reusing about 75% of total stormwater through rolling arroyos, bioswales, underground cisterns, and a 6-acre lake. The first lake in California to mix stormwater with reclaimed water, and the first-ever filtration system cleaning water before reuse, while supporting the community as a public amenity. California officials have lauded the conservation of drinking water, offsetting potable water demands by 75 acre-feet per year in year one, only allowing reclaimed water for irrigation, and an exemplar of “advancing environmentally sustainable communities.”

Design for Economy

The Hollywood Park site was secured by Kroenke and its development partners prior to HKS’ selection and was “build-ready” for the project.The development mix was conceived to capitalize on the three venues – SoFi stadium, YouTube Theater, and American Airlines Plaza – to capture the best tenants (including the relocated NFL Network) and world-class events. The connection of the venues has created operational efficiencies which increases flexibility, number of days programmed and reduced floor area. The development is one of the largest private investments in southern California history (also first in the modern sports era) and is a transformational resource for the City of Inglewood, without the need to divert public finding away from other vital programs. The masterplan and project were designed to lift the real estate in a city that had lagged the region for decades. The city has already seen this lift with the Forum renovation and reopening (17,500 capacity) and the relocation of the Clippers NBA team with a new arena. The private funding allowed the team to focus their efforts on the vision for the building, which is to have a 100+ year lifespan. Through ROI and Life Cycle Analysis, we were able to get higher level of finishes and materials through out the building.

Design for Energy

The original project brief called for a multi-purpose venue guaranteed to host events regardless of climatic conditions. While this requirement would traditionally demand a fully conditioned enclosed space, we challenged this assumption and created a passively ventilated open-air stadium that protects patrons from the elements. Capitalizing on Southern California’s mild climate, the open-air stadium allows natural ventilation throughout the bowl, while the fritted ETFE canopy, comprised of more than 300 panels, reduces solar heat gain and provides a skylit environment. This includes 46 operable panels that can open to maximize airflow and relieve air movement during differing wind patterns to create a dynamic and systematic approach to handle a variety of climatic conditions. The panels feature a 65% frit pattern to reduce solar gain. We collaborated with RWDI, which used thermodynamic modeling to evaluate wind direction, temperature, and velocity to design the bowl and roof shell. This ensured the stadium form is optimized to promote air movement throughout the venue. Ceiling fans are used throughout the open-air concourses – only interior clubs, suites, and back of house spaces are conditioned. The canopy provides shade to exterior spaces that in-turn reduces the heat-island effect.All concourse circulation spaces are naturally lit. The canyons, roof, and seating bowl combine to create a series of passively ventilated and naturally lit amenity spaces. Vegetated canyons create naturally lit outdoor club environments, despite being 50’ below grade.

Design for Well-being

Its open-air concourses create continuous views inward to the field and outward to the city to seamlessly merge the stadium’s landscape architecture with the surrounding Inglewood community and beyond. The setting removes boundaries and invites recreation, gatherings and outdoor life. Lake Park, which is open to the public daily, promotes walking with a continuous path that circumnavigates the waterfall feature. Along the path, informational didactics teach about the diversity of California plant typologies, unifying the patrons with nature. Visitors can also relax on a lakefront deck or in seating sculpted within elegant concrete planters. The stadium was designed as a series of experiences, each quadrant representing unique food options from various Los Angeles neighborhoods. This encourages fans to get up, walk around, and sample the different offerings. Those options include a variety of healthy choices including vegetarian, vegan, paleo and plant-based items. The covered American Airlines Plaza hosts food markets and other community events. SoFi Stadium has already been used for food drives, a voting center, and a COVID testing and vaccination site.

Design for Resources

Constructed primarily of concrete and steel, SoFi Stadium is built to last for 100 years. Other material selections include:-Long-span cable truss roof structure reduced steel tonnage required for roof structure by more than 30%. -ETFE-UV impervious material that allows for daylighting while reducing solar heat gain. 30+ year lifespan and 100% recyclable. ETFE is both easily recyclable and long-lasting, holding up to extreme climatic conditions. It is cost-effective to produce, and has a low-energy manufacturing and transportation process, thanks in large part to its light weight.-Aluminum panels – 60+ years lifespan with custom finish that reflects changing sunlight colors throughout the day. Aluminum is 100% recyclable.-Lime cement plaster – cement plaster that uses lime instead of Portland cement as a base. Lime plaster is more flexible, less prone to cracking, and the manufacturing of it is better for the environment.-Concrete used a high-quality granite aggregate imported (by water) from British Columbia. This resulted in a significant embodied carbon savings, even when the transportation emissions were included. The aggregate allowed significant reductions to cement content from baseline mixes, which used softer local aggregates. Cement is responsible for 90% of the embodied carbon of concrete, so cement reduction achieves significant embodied carbon reductions.

Design for Change

The proximity to the Inglewood seismic fault line also necessitated designing the stadium to withstand earthquakes. Working with our engineering partners, we structurally separated the roof structure from the other project components to allow each to respond independently during a seismic event. This means that the stadium bowl, the performance venue, the roof, and the plaza can move without fear of them interacting with the roof structure. The project required a large excavation, which has a tall retaining wall. The seating bowl structure sits on the base of the excavation and is independent of the retaining wall. The roof structure spans across the bowl and is seismically independent, albeit with some gravity support from the bowl structure. CHANGEAlthough the primary use of SoFi Stadium is for NFL football games, it is designed to accommodate other sports and entertainment typologies as well as community organizations/ events. In addition to the upcoming Super Bowl, College Football National Championship Game, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2028 Summer Olympics and several other headline events, the venue’s flexibility will also allow for other activities such as soccer, professional wrestling, esports, award shows, the NFL Draft and more, all in a setting that we call ‘authentic sustainability.’ And that flexibility provides a permanent uplifting social and economic environment for the city of Inglewood, Southern California, and the world.We researched 100 years of climatic data and future projections to develop a passive design strategy at SoFi Stadium – open concourses, landscape terraces, operable panels, perforated shell, and ETFE canopy create a passively ventilated and naturally lit environment. The project’s infrastructure was designed for the ultimate flexibility for the owner, operator, and users. The four key elements of the larger district – SoFi stadium, American Airlines Plaza, Performance Venue, and Lake Park – can function independently or as cohesive unit depending on the event.

Design for Discovery

The embedding of the structure 100-feet below ground, created an opportunity to transform the fan experience. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted with an elegant profile, but they do not experience the stadium’s entire scale until passing through the landscaped canyons – the ultimate discovery moment.The American Airlines Plaza, Lake Park and other public spaces encourage visitors to learn about the diverse regional landscapes, as well as providing opportunities to improve their well-being by walking, jogging or simply meditatingA 21st century evolution of media technology, the stadium’s circular videoboard creates a more immersive experience and provides a canvas for a myriad of content including fantasy stats, other sporting events and news.Project information, including the contractor and fabricator who could advise on the financial and supply chain impact of proposed modifications to the Model of Record. To meet the challenge of communicating the design intent and ensuring that the stadium would be built as designed, the architects worked with the California State Architecture Board to develop a digital authentication tool and data repository that supported a direct-to-fabrication workflow. This now-patented application allowed all stakeholders to access Another major feature of SoFi Stadium is the videoboard. It is the largest in sports at 2.2 million pounds and 120-yards long. It is also the first-ever dual-sided 4K LED display system – displaying images on both sides and making it readable from every seat.All 80 million LED pixels can be uniquely or congruently programmed with specialized content. A state-of-the-art audio system with more than 260 speakers delivers a wattage equivalence of 1,500 home theater systems. Together, they produce a unique experience for fans who can watch live action, instant replays, get real-time fantasy stats, or even watch different programming.

The Press – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

merit award

The Press

Architect: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects

Project Location: Costa Mesa, California

Photographer: Matthew Millman

An abandoned Los Angeles Times print facility is reborn as a creative office in this 430,000-sf adaptive re-use project. Portions of the once dark, monolithic three-story complex are selectively subtracted to achieve thriving habitability while retaining its industrial past. Subtraction reveals the previously unseen: the high volume of a former press line, or austere steel once hidden by tinted glass. Spaces for machines become spaces for people.

“The design successfully preserves and upgrades; the new interventions are well conceived and executed. The open space and landscape design are particularity strong and additive to the user experience.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

Selective preservation and intentional growth distinguish this complex adaptive re-use, which utilized nearly every aspect of its previous life. The design celebrates material and organic markers of time—as-is paint chips, rail spurs and conveyor belts and an existing tree placed to grow through the structure itself—hint at history, site and context. The project also reincorporates an existing rail line into a bike and pedestrian trail as part of Orange County’s master plan.

Design for Equitable Communities

Design for Ecosystems

In the spirit of reuse and recycling, a number of mature trees were relocated within the campus to not only preserve what had been, but what was to come. Many of the trees that either still exist or were relocated signify a profound viewer experience, taking advantage of the selective subtraction of the hardscape and building to let in the fresh breath of natural moments. Openings in the loading dock canopy allow for tree canopies to poke through, a poetic intersection of new life with the industrial past.

Design for Water

Design for Economy

Given the existing facility’s mass, the goal was to maintain the beauty of cavernous “cathedral” spaces while maximizing efficiency of space. The team worked closely with the structural engineer, evaluating the integrity of the existing structure to understand the most effective ways of creating various openings and new mezzanine levels, selectively removing some elements and preserving others. All milestones included cost estimates to parse the budgetary impact of each move. Cost reduction exercises focused on maintaining design integrity while providing needed spaces.

Design for Energy

Design for Well-being

Every move – the selective removal of concrete panels to allow for light and views, the sequence of each entry, the adjacency of every program element – was modeled and reviewed with daylight and wind simulations. Natural light and access to views also drove liberal incorporation of operable windows and inserted balconies throughout the interior. The Rail Trail provides a scenic walking path right on campus that not only promotes recreation and “thinking while walking” opportunities, but also connects the campus to the great community with the publicly accessible amenity.

Design for Resources

Material selection stressed selective subtraction and minimal addition. Glass fills newly-opened corners to accentuate existing elements. Every new material was chosen based on how it would age, embracing the march of time and its residual quirks.

Avoidance of newness for its own sake informed use of thermally-modified pine wood which is both relatively low-impact due to fast growth, will age to echo the original building’s patina.

Three varieties of Radiata Pine decking were used throughout, including the open-air lobby, entry court stairs, park and outdoor decks and seating.

Design for Change

The overall aesthetic vision embraces history and imperfection, patinas and paint chips and all. By incorporating the concept of wabi sabi – the idea of beauty being imperfect and incomplete – the renovation has a texture and character that hints at the past and creates a dialogue about site and context. The project maintains a local history in a region that is still developing a story about its past, present, and future.

Structural elements, meanwhile, celebrate the original facility’s strongest constituent parts, elevating utilitarian steel beams into dramatic spatial framing devices without relegating them to the realm of the decorative.

Such an approach not only anticipates but celebrates the process of material aging and organic growth. An existing ficus tree at the site was transplanted into the open-air lobby, with the expectation that it would grow through all the structures and guardrails, eventually forming a natural canopy.

Resiliency upgrades address two primary building threats: flooding, due to the flat and low-lying nature of the site, and earthquakes. All new structural elements meet current building code requirements for earthquakes, and areas that previously did not have been upgraded to ensure the safety of all occupants and the resiliency of the buildings. With regard to flooding threats, new site grading directs water away from the buildings and into landscaped stormwater retention basins and bioswales.

Design for Discovery

The factory line and adjacent site based on its sheer monumental scale is rich with opportunities for happenstance interactions as well as quieter moments of discovery and serendipity.

An exterior ‘Atrium’ is inserted into the central press line, providing casual workspace and chance encounters as circulatory paths cross. From certain spots, conveyor treads spanning the former press are visible in their entirety, a vantage point that would have once been mechanically impossible. A ‘Skycut’ slices across the building to create pedestrian paths through the site. A former mechanical penthouse becomes a hideaway rooftop bar. Loading docks and canopy overhangs become continuous back porches – opportunities for reflection, fitness, and collaboration. Leviathan volumes for printing presses become cathedral-like workplaces.

Not unlike a cathedral is a modern variation on stained glass that enjoys its own “golden hour:” a transparent Southwestern-themed color field mural, when sunlit at just the right angle, is projected upwards onto the walls to create the illusion of continuity with the sky above.

Though conceptualized years earlier, the adaptive re-use’s key concepts happen to align with the ideal of a “post-pandemic workplace:” connectivity to nature and amenities, which enjoys the added benefit of natural ventilation throughout. Unique indoor-outdoor spaces at every scale are layered with landscaping and graphic murals and are discovered as one traverses the project. These varied experiences speak to the varied personalities and moods of the occupants.

The Press can serve as a model for other types of campuses with aggregated programs—where a mix of tenants/departments/schools can intersect with each other adjacent to public amenities (like the Rail Trail) and retail (like the Canteen). All set within an reused structure that is extremely porous, flexible and encourages indoor-outdoor interaction.

Three Gables – Merit

October 5, 2022| 2022 Design Award Recipient, 2022 Merit Award, Specialist| AIA California

2022 AIA CA DESIGN AWARDS

Merit Award

Three Gables

Architect: Aidlin Darling Design

Project Location: Napa, California

Photographer: Matthew Millman

Perched on ten acres in the hills overlooking Napa Valley, this rural homestead was designed for a family of three seeking a more peaceful life away from the city. After a wildfire decimated the site, the clients were determined to build a modern, resilient home. The home is defined by a triad of gable roof structures, embracing both the area’s agrarian vernacular and the father’s European roots.

“The form, details and materials are considered, meticulously detailed and very well executed.” – 2022 Design Awards Jury

Design for Integration

Due to the home’s Napa Valley location, potential fire mitigation is an intrinsic aspect of the design that informed everything from material selection to form. The exterior palette is primarily composed of concrete and steel, which are inherently fire-resistant materials. Finely crafted, board-formed concrete make up the stout base and the majority of the walls, also creating robust stiffness for the home’s seismic integrity. The standing seam metal, gabled roofs shed rainwater and deflect potential sparks blown in from distant fires.

Design for Equitable Communities

Design for Ecosystems

The Atlas fire in late 2017 ravaged the property along with hundreds of oak trees. This altered the approach to the landscaping, and led to the implementation of substantial fire mitigation and prevention strategies. Brush and trees have been thinned/ cleared, and native drought-tolerant plants utilized in restoring the property after the fire.

Design for Water

The design incorporates high efficiency plumbing fixtures throughout the home. All plantings are drought tolerant.

Design for Economy

This house for two adults and one child sought to provide shared living space, bedrooms, as well as work/ play spaces for each occupant. By creating separate home offices for both adults, the design allows them to work from home. From the outset, the design intent aligned with the owner’s preferences to focus on the quality of spaces and materials, rather than on maximizing the square footage.

Design for Energy

Operable fenestration allows the site winds from the east to passively cool the home. Zoned and localized radiant heating and cooling systems, along with high performance, thermally-broken windows and doors further enhance energy savings. The design gesture of the deep gabled roof that extends over the south-facing glazing and deck provides passive solar control and protects occupants from the summer sun. A retractable exterior awning on the west, along with operable exterior west-facing shades, serve to keep west-facing glass out of the sun.

Design for Well-being

The home’s rural hillside location presented an ideal opportunity to design a biophilic home that facilitates an indoor-outdoor lifestyle. The project’s terraced landscapes and shade canopy structures respond to the steeply sloping terrain, while protecting occupants from the harsh elements of the surrounding environment. The home’s massing creates a range of shaded spaces that allow occupants to gather and connect with nature throughout the day. Terraces offer moments to pause and appreciate panoramic views of Napa Valley to the west. Large sliding glass doors and numerous operable windows were designed to capture site breezes, and provide natural cross-ventilation.

Design for Resources

Whenever possible materials were used that would be low maintenance and would not require re-painting or re-finishing, reducing the use of chemicals and thereby benefitting both the environment and the occupants. Where feasible, engineered wood structural elements were used in lieu of steel, to reduce the embodied carbon.

Design for Change

The building was designed not only with material resiliency in mind, with low to no-maintenance materials used at the exteriors, but also with seismic resiliency in mind. The main anchoring walls of board-formed concrete create robust stiffness for the seismic integrity of the residence. The landscaping strategy uses native and drought tolerant trees and plantings, ensuring that the root systems stabilizing the hillside remain healthy and intact even through times of drought. In the event of a natural disaster that leaves the area without power and resources, the home was designed with ample operable window and door fenestration, allowing the user to keep the home’s temperature modulated through passive means.

Fire mitigation is a central, intrinsic aspect of this home’s design that informed everything from material selection to form. It was a critical consideration due to the fact that the the same site was destroyed by a wildfire. The Napa Valley location means wildfires are a continued risk. The exterior palette is primarily composed of concrete and steel, both of which are inherently fire-resistant materials. Finely crafted, board-formed concrete makes up the building’s stout base and the majority of its walls. The standing seam metal, gabled roofs shed rainwater and deflect potential sparks blown in from distant fires.

The home includes a guest suite for the owner’s aging father, to allow three generations to cohabitate. Due to the 2017 fire, the owner has transformed the landscape to mitigate wildfire risk for the house and the neighboring properties. Additionally, the owner has started a side business with a partner, to help assess wildfire risks on private properties, and using environmentally-sensitive means of air-burning cleared trees and debris—this method is up to 90% cleaner that open burning, with opacities well under 10% (using EPA Method 9 Testing). This method has a significantly lower carbon footprint than off-hauling, or open burning.

Per previous responses, this pre-pandemic design constituted a significant change for the owners, in terms of shifting to a work-from-home lifestyle, with separate dedicated home offices. This proved to be beneficial during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Design for Discovery

Based on the client’s desire to work from home (pre-pandemic), to minimize vehicular travel and spend more time with their son, the design evolved during construction to change a gabled storage space above the garage into a home office and gym for the father. The 2017 fire mentioned above radically altered the approach to the landscape, both in terms of hundreds of shade-providing trees lost, and a strategy of moving forward with fewer trees to mitigate wildfire risk. Decks were changed from wood to non-flammable aluminum grating, and additional non-combustible shade structures were developed in lieu of new trees for shade in fire-prone areas.