Los Angeles architecture studio Woods + Dangaran has crafted an idyllic hillside home, nestled into one of the city's famous green slopes. Set in Trousdale Estates, Carla Ridge Residence embodies the spirit of Los Angeles living, bringing together an urbane lifestyle with long views, open spaces and an architecture that merges indoors and outdoors while nodding to classic modernism.
Spanning a generous 9,800 sq ft and five bedrooms, and created for a local developer, the house is expansive. This is also a design that is completely in tune with its surroundings, combining a flowing open-plan interior for its communal spaces, with an array of outdoor areas. There are courtyards, paved terraces, sheltered open-air pathways, architectural gardens and a striking, double infinity-edge swimming pool with views east to downtown Los Angeles and west to the Pacific Ocean. ‘The visitor experience is carefully choreographed,' says the team.
Carla Ridge Residence is arranged within two ‘pavilions' occupying slightly different levels, but placed parallel to each other. They are united by a courtyard and an enclosed part that contains the house's main staircase – this feels more like a gallery to sit and admire the Los Angeles skyline than a circulation core. The section that is placed closer to the views hosts the main living areas, a large open plan arrangement that makes for the perfect entertaining space. The second ‘pavilion' houses the en suite bedrooms and a family room. An outdoor staircase made of tactile board-formed concrete leads the visitor up to the roof terrace of the front pavilion, adding to the range of al fresco options on site.
Inside, the materiality remains in tune with its context, as the architects prioritised natural, subtly luxurious materials that nod to the modernist architecture Los Angeles is so well known for. ‘The finish materials enhance the timeless quality of the design with teak casework and wall panelling, travertine floor slabs, and board-formed concrete walls in the atrium,’ they explain. Timber, dark accents, concrete, and low, pronounced overhangs, make for a powerful, yet discreet presence that allows the context and views to take centre stage.
INFORMATION
woodsdangaran.com
-
Maserati unveils the Fuoriserie By Hiroshi Fujiwara MC20 Cielo modelHiroshi Fujiwara, the so-called Godfather of Streetwear, lends his talents to Maserati’s in-house bespoke division, creating a stylish take on the company’s open-topped supercar
-
Diffar is a new Japanese hair brand making perfume oil at the foot of Mount FujiDiffar, a newly founded Japanese beauty brand, creates perfume oils for hair in its Mount Fuji laboratory that are set to travel the world
-
‘Architecture for Dogs is about exploring the joy and meaning behind design’: ADI’s latest exhibition celebrates the human-canine bondAs a showcase of designs for dogs opens in Milan, we find out why inviting our four-legged friends into exhibitions benefits everybody.
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie StathakiThe top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
-
A vacant Tribeca penthouse is transformed into a bright, contemporary eyrieA Tribeca penthouse is elevated by Peterson Rich Office, who redesigned it by adding a sculptural staircase and openings to the large terrace
-
We walk through Luther George Park and its new undulating pavilionLuther George Park by Trahan Architects and landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels opens to the public, showcasing a striking new pavilion installation – take a first look
-
A vibrant new waterfront park opens in San FranciscoA waterfront park by leading studio Scape at China Basin provides dynamic public spaces and coastal resilience for San Francisco's new district of Mission Rock
-
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station: a building ‘as inspiring as the endless forest and waterways of the land’The new Tekαkαpimək Contact Station by Saunders Architecture with Reed Hilderbrand and Alisberg Parker Architects, opens at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in the USA
-
Entelechy II: architect John Portman's majestic beach home hits the marketEntelechy II, architect John Portman's beach residence in Georgia, USA, goes on the market; roll up, roll up for a home that is as grand as it is playful
-
First look: Honolulu's Victoria Place blends cosmopolitan living with Hawaii life and natureVictoria Place is a new residential tower at Honolulu's Ward Village; take a first look at its interiors
-
A look inside the home of George Homsey, one of the fathers of pioneering California modernist community Sea RanchGeorge Homsey's home opens for the first time since his death, in 2019; see where the architect behind some of the designs for Sea Ranch, the pioneering California modernist community, lived
