Venice Beach Lofts
Venice, Calif.
Steven Ehrlich Architects

Lofts raise beach living to new heights

© Tim Brown

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Working within a 60- by 120-foot site, squeezed between two apartment buildings just one-half block from the popular beach boardwalk in Venice, Calif., Steven Ehrlich Architects were challenged to provide a refuge from the noise and activity of the street while maximizing living space and enjoyment of the beach environment.

Their complex consists of four units, each 1,900 square feet. Thanks to a 30-foot height limit, the design affords these three-level units abundant light, generous rooms, balconies and roof terraces. Each loft has a large glass roll-up door in its principal space that helps blur the line between indoors and outdoors; a bamboo hedge affords privacy.

A stacked steel stair system originates in the basement of each unit and proceeds up through two floors and to a roof terrace. A catwalk of steel grating connects mezzanine galleries to other flexible spaces that residents can use as either bedrooms or studies. Individual roof decks offer spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

The lofts’ durable, low-maintenance materials are appropriate to the gritty neighborhood. The building’s exterior is clad in vertically-corrugated steel, painted white, contrasted with horizontal planes of galvanized steel. Grey-green stucco wraps the service elements of the project, including the vertical circulation and plumbing elements.

Formal name of Project: Venice Beach Lofts	Steven Ehrlich Architects
Location: Venice, Calif.
Gross square footage: 7,600 sq. ft.
Owner: Rick Ehrman, Beach Lofts, LLC
Architect: Steven Ehrlich Architects 10865 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 310.838.9700 310.838.9737 fax www.s-ehrlich.com