Breeze Blocks is a Beverly Hills house made for entertaining
Kovac Design Studio crafts Breeze Blocks, a California house bringing the outside in

Jeremy Bittermann - Photography
Created for an East Coast-based client who likes to entertain when in town, Breeze Blocks is a Beverly Hills house conceived to show off its contemporary architecture, variety of living spaces, and long, striking Los Angeles views. Its architects, locally based Kovac Design Studio, founded by Michael Kovac, made the most of the brief, crafting a home that effortlessly unites inside and outside, opening up to the vistas through large windows, glass walls and strategic orientation that allows life to spill out to the residence’s manicured garden.
‘[The clients] were seeking to take maximum advantage of the jetliner views and welcoming Mediterranean climate. The neighbourhood’s low-slung modern homes with their cool and evocative detailing that harkened back to the Mad Men-era were to be the aesthetic touchstone for the project,’ the architects explain.
A Beverly Hills house uniting inside and outside
The project’s eponymous breeze blocks – in white concrete that is coloured golden inside – define its identity, appearing as soon as visitors approach the house, flanking the approach to the main door. Their permeable nature means that glimpses of what comes beyond are visible, yet not much is revealed of the goings-on inside, maintaining the owners’ privacy. The openings also allow air to travel through, cooling down the site.
Inside, natural materials including terrazzo floors, bleached oak wood panels, and textured limestone walls make up a palette of subtle luxury and serenity. Soft colour tones ensure nothing distracts from the striking views, while carefully curated art and centrepiece elements enliven the interior. Bespoke features abound in this Beverly Hills house, including the customised breeze block screens; a terrazzo tub; and a Burle-Marx-inspired custom mosaic glass panel in the entrance area.
‘The sun sinks into the blue Pacific and the twinkling infinite carpet of city lights unfolds,’ the architects say. ‘There is no better place to take this all in – an oasis in the sky.’
Information
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Milan Design Week 2025: step inside this Brera Design Apartment before the crowds
This Brera apartment, an interiors showcase custom-designed by studio Zanellato/Bortotto, speaks to Italy’s rich creative heritage and the duo’s own travels. Sneak a peek
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
Johanna Parv’s ‘engineered formalwear’ is made for the woman on the move
Part of our monthly series ‘Uprising’, Wallpaper* meets Johanna Parv, the London-based designer whose stealthily beautiful clothes are designed to take women from boardroom to dinner by way of the bike lane
By Orla Brennan Published
-
Pretty in pink: Mumbai's new residential tower shakes up the cityscape
'Satguru’s Rendezvous' in Mumbai houses luxury apartments behind its elegant fluted concrete skin. We take a tour.
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?
In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
By Mimi Zeiger Published
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildings
The JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
By Anna Fixsen Published
-
Buy a slice of California’s midcentury modern history with this 1955 Pasadena house
Conrad Buff II Residence has been fully restored and updated for the 21st century
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Step inside a writer's Richard Neutra-designed apartment in Los Angeles
Michael Webb, invites us into his LA home – a showcase of modernist living
By Michael Webb Published
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continents
We take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The Architecture of Seduction: how Horace Gifford built a modernist, queer paradise
Fire Island is explored through a new edition of Christopher Rawlins’ seminal architectural and social history book on the life and work of Horace Gifford
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Step inside this furniture gallerist's live-work space by Steven Holl in upstate New York
Designed by Steven Holl for modern furniture gallerists Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick, this live-work space in upstate New York is a midcentury collector’s paradise
By Michael Webb Published
-
Remembering architect Ricardo Scofidio (1935 – 2025)
Ricardo Scofidio, seminal architect and co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has died, aged 89; we honour his passing and celebrate his life
By Ellie Stathaki Published