PROJECT INFO
Scope: New Single-Family Residence
Location: Los Angeles, Mulholland Drive
Size: 4,900 sf
Status: Permit Obtained
PROJECT description:
Arshia Architects’ hillside residential practice centers on achieving a balance between performance and presage as an integrated whole. Without compromising essential living functions, AL99 pursued a design approach that fuses complex utilities and tectonics into a unified architectural apparatus.
This holistic strategy aimed to develop performance in tandem with form, rejecting the traditional separation of architectural body and skin. The residential program is carefully arranged along the steep hillside, with access from the road to a ground-floor garage, cascading down to living spaces and bedrooms—each offering expansive valley views. Both living areas and bedrooms open onto private decks, while an elevated pool and seating pit extend the minimal interior footprint, fostering seamless indoor-outdoor connectivity.
To shield the residence from views along the adjacent road, the exterior design employs a cohesive building enclosure. A firm, material-neutral ring unifies exterior elements—walls, railings, solar panels—serving both as a boundary between public and private realms and as a framing device that captures and enhances the downhill scenery like a carefully calibrated aperture. A thoughtful material palette further redefines the exterior geometry, lending the structure a visually light, floating presence.
AL99
“AL99 investigated a design strategy that seamlessly integrates complex utilities with structural tectonics, treating them as a singular, cohesive system.”