Location: Venice, California

Project size: 4,500 square feet

Program: The project comprises three single-family houses, each on legally distinct parcel, and with its own identity. Two houses, X and Y, face the street, and a third, Z, is in the rear, adjacent to an alley.  The X House, designed as a live/work environment, enters into a ground level studio and a den/bedroom. The kitchen, dining, and living spaces are on the second level, while a master bedroom and bath occupy the entire top floor. In contrast, the Y House is a single-family residence, with the primary living spaces located on the ground floor.  The second level comprises the master bedroom; the top floor includes an additional bedroom and a studio/playroom. The Z House sits above its two-car garage and tandem carports for the other two houses. The front door is located on the second level facing the street, accessed by way of an exterior stair/ramp located in the slot between the other two houses. The Z House is an open plan, double-story loft space with perforated steel stairs to the upper floor and the roof.  Other than fixed baths on both levels and a kitchen on the middle level, the loft layout is flexible. Private roof gardens provide outdoor rooms for all three houses. 

Solution: Two 30-foot tall, L-shaped cement plaster walls organize the project and form an axial passageway from the street to the alley house.  The street-facing X and Y Houses are organized around spiraling switchback stairs, which eliminate the need for hallways and divide each floor plate into two clear zones. The interior of the Z house is screened from the south-facing alley by bamboo and a perforated corrugated screen façade.

Construction and materials: Exterior surface materials include bar grating over thermoplastic polyolefin roofing material on the X House, perforated anodized aluminum rain screen on the Y House, and perforated, corrugated zinc rain screen on the Z House, along with smooth cement plaster walls.  Each house contrasts refined elements and minimalist detailing with rough materials expressive of construction. Precise steel stairs and framing, stainless steel railings, mesh screens, sealed plaster interior walls, and manufactured storage are juxtaposed with raw elements such as exposed manufactured joists, plywood sheeting, concrete floors, and distressed tile.

Additional Information

Location: Venice, California

Completion date: June 2019

Owner: Mark Cigolle, Reid Cigolle, Kim Coleman