Program: House Stepping Down a Hill rests on a natural promontory in Los Angeles with views out to Silver Lake Reservoir and the San Gabriel Mountains. The owners, who lived in the neighboring historic Lipetz House, designed by Raphael Soriano in 1936, saw an opportunity to build a larger primary residence on the property.

Design Solution: In contrast to the streamlined and moderne character of the Lipetz House, the new house steps down the hill in a contemporary idiom, creating a peaked roofline that mimics the landscape without obscuring views from the historic property. Two large roof trusses enclose the main living space, which is flanked to the north by a pavilion, one half-floor lower, that contains a suite of bedrooms. On one side of the house, a covered deck faces west, and on the other, the rough U-shape of its plan cradles an exterior patio and pool with extensive vistas to the east.

Structure and Materials: The house carefully considers the Western American environment in which it resides and materiality is intentionally industrial and minimal in nature. Board-formed concrete anchors the house to its site, while 80-millimeter PVC wraps the roof and key vertical surfaces as a low-cost protective solution in a high fire zone. The pool can also be emptied in the event of a wildfire.

Additional Information
Completion date: June 2020
Site size in acres: 0.32 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/owner: Annie Weisman Macomber and William Macomber

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Photos by Bruce Damonte

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Drawings courtesy the firm