Hillside House by Johnston Marklee in Los Angeles, California

Project: Hillside House Architects: Johnston Marklee Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Photography: Provided by Johnston Marklee

Hillside House by Johnston Marklee

The Hillside House is a contemporary residence located in Pacific Palisades, California. It sits on a hillside offering stunning views of the Sullivan Canyon and Santa Monica Bay. The project was designed by the architectural studio Johnston Marklee, whose work you can also see in another of their projects – the View from Argentina House. The eccentric exterior design is a theme in both houses.

Completed in October 2004, the Hillside House was designed under challenging conditions caused by modern construction issues on a hillside. Located in Pacific Palisades, California, the house site offers panoramic views from Raskin and Sullivan canyons to Santa Monica Bay but the lot has an irregular shape and sits on a sloping, descending terrain. The neighboring house, the Ames House, 3300 square feet, provocatively continues the tradition of experimental Case Study Houses dedicated to reimagining the Los Angeles lifestyle.

Increasingly in Los Angeles, local building codes on slopes, construction standards, coastal regulations and architectural review boards are introducing restrictions on hillside construction to preserve the natural landscape of hillsides by limiting building height, location and volume. The Hillside House sets a new precedent for hillside construction by freeing itself from these restrictions—not through circumvention but strategically transforming these strict criteria into a sculptural and efficient design solution that seamlessly interacts with the surrounding environment.

The mass of the Hillside House is defined by two economic development criteria: maximize the volume allowed by zoning; and minimize contact with the natural landscape. Recalling Huger Ferris's vision of Manhattan skyscrapers literally interpreting zoning as building form, the Hillside House takes the maximum zoning contour as its shape. The initial contour is formed by a combination of lot setbacks and height restrictions, then further refined in three-dimensional space according to structural criteria.

Inside the building envelope, individual programmatic components are arranged to fit within a fixed contour like an acrobat skillfully compressing their body into unique configurations. Removing all load-bearing walls and partitions, the program flows smoothly between three levels within the outer shell. The upper semi-public loft area and more secluded lower bedroom bathroom separate the central public living room and dining area. An open, sculptural, steel and glass staircase vertically connects the three levels. The smooth polished inner shell is formed and curved selectively to accentuate the geometry of the house and provide spaces for storage and engineering services.

The strategy for window openings arose from the desire to minimize quantity for privacy and ecological efficiency, while maximizing size for views, ventilation and lighting. Considering the relationship of the lot and building to the street, the usual rear of the house actually becomes its front with spectacular views of canyon and ocean to the north, east and south. Large sliding glass doors in the living room are recessed into hidden pockets, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. Where windows and doors are embedded in the building volume, the exterior cladding folds inward to form deep sills and thresholds. Embedded windows in private rooms frame specific views outward, limiting the view from inside the house. The placement of lights on flat and sloped roofs further blurs the difference between roof and wall. Indirect lighting sources and unexpected views from these openings enhance the three-dimensional quality of space and form.

To express the continuity of the building shell and minimize typical distinctions between roof planes and walls, a seamless elastomeric cement exterior finish without joints was used. The built-in violet color of the coating was taken from eucalyptus bark pigment common to the site, strengthening the connection of the house with its location from which its form was derived. The iridescent material gives sharp color variations depending on lighting conditions throughout the day. Similarly to the monolithic exterior finish, interior materials are detailed to accentuate spatial continuity. Materials in various shades of white, including polished Carrara marble, smooth Corian countertops, lacquered wood and enameled steel, flow smoothly into one another, sometimes highlighted by dark walnut veneer and kitchen cabinetry. A variety of local California grasses cover the slope around the house. Highly detailed succulent plants such as aloe and agave accentuate the soft grasses and reflect the clean lines of the house.

The structural assembly consists of concrete, steel and wood. The foundation is based on nine reinforced concrete piles 35 feet deep, anchored in a rock layer and connected by a network of grade beams. Rising from this foundation, sloping concrete walls are designed perpendicular to level—instead of vertical direction, adopting a form that prevents falling. A reinforced concrete frame with wood-filled structure emerges from the concrete base, forming the central circulation zone and projecting overhang at the entrance.

–Johnston Marklee