Sola Residence
Los Angeles
Escher GuneWardena Architecture

"Tubes" step down a hillside above Los Angeles

Courtesy Escher GuneWardena Architecture

For more images click on 'photos & drawings' above.

Designed for an artist and curator, this project addresses an increasingly familiar scenario in Los Angeles: how to avoid breaking the bank while developing a difficult site, one that was in fact considered unsuitable for conventional residential construction because of steep grade change. Escher GuneWardena’s solution strikes a balance between economic and engineering concerns, and acknowledges the important contextual experience of architecture designed for a specific site.

The Sola Residence sits on a hillside that is covered with native shrubs, trees, and grasses. It features views of an adjacent nature conservancy and the city of Los Angeles. Zoning requirements and the site’s narrow dimensions shaped the house’s form. To accommodate parking and an area for automobiles to turn around, the architects provided flat areas on the street level and at the rear of the building. They also devised a scheme with three terraces 12 feet high that step into the hillside. The architects used these retaining walls to delineate manmade interventions from the surrounding landscape.

The house’s massing consists of three rectangular volumes that the architects liken to “tubes,” which are unevenly stacked on top of each other. The lowest tube contains the garage; the middle one bedrooms as well as a tunnel-like studio space that spans the entire length of the building; and the top tube houses living, dining, and kitchen areas. Glazing covers the open ends of the tubes, providing views of the city and the conservation area. Smaller windows puncture the sides of the tubes, which face onto the street.

Within the interiors, the architects used plywood to enclose the volumes that contain stairs, bathrooms, and other utility rooms. They specified glossy paint finishes to accentuate the tubes’ linear quality and their relationship to the open, glazed ends. For budgetary reasons, standard Type-V wood construction methods will be employed and the house’s exterior roof, walls, and soffits will be wrapped in an inexpensive thermoplastic roofing membrane.

Construction is currently on hold.

Formal name of building:
Sola Residence

Location:
Los Angeles

Gross square footage:
3,150 sq. ft.

Owner:
Joseph Sola

Architect:
Escher GuneWardena Architecture
815 Silver Lake Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
323-665-9100 tel.
323-665-9103 fax

Ravi GuneWardena and Frank Escher; Photo © John Ellis, photographer

Principal architects and designers: Ravi GuneWardena, Frank Escher
Project architect: Bojana Banyasz
Previous project architect: Tom Friedrich

Engineer
Andrew Nasser, Omnispan Corporation

Consultant(s)
Soils engineer: Andre M. Minassian, Technosoil
Title 24, energy compliance: Gary Jelusic, American Energy Consultants
Surveyor: Ruvin Grutman, GM Engineering
Civil engineer: Richard Garcia

Renderer(s)
Tom Friedrich

CAD system, project management, or other software used
AutoCAD 2000 www.autodesk.com, Photoshop 6.0 adobe.com

Structural system
Trus Joist MacMillan, standard Type V. construction

Exterior cladding
Concrete: Cast-in-place concrete for retaining walls
Other: The entire house (roof and walls) to be clad in Sarnafil thermoplastic roof membrane

Roofing
Elastomeric: Sarnafil thermoplastic roof membrane

Windows
Aluminum: Storefront sliding system

Hardware
Locksets: Schlage www.schlage.com
Hinges: Stanley www.stanleyhardware.com
Pulls: Sugatsune www.sugatsune.com

Interior finishes
Plastic laminate: Kitchen and bath cabinetry
Special surfacing: High gloss paint on walls
Resilient flooring: Polyurethane resin on plywood subfloor

Lighting
Controls: Lutron www.lutron.com