Project Size: 2,000 square feet

Site Size: 5,100 square feet

Program: The clients, a couple with a dog, desired a contemporary twist for the renovation and extension of their one-story 1940s bungalow on a corner site in west Los Angeles. They asked the architects to explore various options for the existing structure, ranging from adding a second floor to razing it altogether.

Solution: The architects ultimately removed most of the existing house (a postwar-style structure clad in stucco with a pitched roof), though they used its skeleton as a point of departure for the new design, preserved some of the original oak flooring, and turned the apex of the old roof into a skylight.

Predock_Frane Architects conceived the new sculptural volume by using computer models to triangulate, stretch, shave, and distort the geometry of the original house. The new L-shaped wood-frame two-story structure, clad in plaster stucco, is entered on the west side, where two large magnolia trees cast shadows on the white facade. Inside, the first floor, a square-shaped plan, contains a living room in the northwest corner, kitchen and dining areas in the northeast corner, and an office, study, and guest bedroom along the south side. (The office/study spaces can be converted into extra bedrooms to increase the resell value of the house.) The second floor, directly above the entrance, has less than half the square footage of the first floor and contains a master suite with a walk-in closet.

The architects aimed to make the space as open and light as possible. A large skylight directs sunlight into the kitchen and living spaces, while corners of the stair shaft and master bedroom are clipped to allow for triangle-shaped window insertions.