A collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach is often what elevates a project to the next level, and this is exactly what happened with this newly completed residential project in Venice, CA, in the USA's West Coast. The scheme, entitled Spectral Bridge House, was a close collaboration between LA based architects Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney and artist Johannes Girardoni.
The team envisioned the spaces as a ‘vessel for living and art', they explain. In order to achieve their cohesive and striking design, the architects and artist worked on a house comprised of three interconnected volumes. These span two floors and are strengthened visually by irregular shapes and orientations, which add dynamism to the composition.
The ground level is kept open and flowing, bridging indoors and outdoors through generous openings towards the garden, decking and pool, and cladding in charred black shou sugi ban. The upper level is in a calming white stucco box and contains mostly private spaces.
What brings everything together though is Girardoni's artwork – a glass atrium bridge containing a ‘an “art lounge” for immersion in coloured light and sound baths'. The piece evolves and changes over time, timed to the sunset and sunrise in a specially planned colour sequence. The experience merges art and life in a fascinating, immersive interior that is never exactly the same.
‘The in-situ sculpture is integral to the architecture and has informed the design of the house. The bridge forms a spine that connects three separate structures', explains the team.
‘Inside Spectral Bridge acts as a filter to the outside world. As night falls, the installation first veils the exterior, then completely disengages from the outside, creating a highly immersive artwork that transforms the viewer’s experience of the site and the architecture on a continual basis. On the inside, Spectral Bridge is an immersive light and sound sculpture in dynamic play with its viewers, the architecture and the site.'
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney website and the Johannes Girardoni website
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk SpaceFurniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and placeLocanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
-
LVMH watch week 2025: everything we know so farOur guide to LVMH Watch Week 2025, taking place in New York and Paris, starting 21 January; keep an eye out for our updates
-
LA Mayor Karen Bass outlines her plan for rebuilding the cityFollowing the devastating LA wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, the city’s mayor has outlined her plan for reconstruction
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yoursFrank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
-
Cabin House is a simple modernist retreat in the woods of North CarolinaDesigned for downsizing clients, Cabin House is a modest two-bedroom home that makes the most of its sylvan surroundings
-
A Texas ranch house blends Californian charm and Asian minimalism in a 'balance in hybridity'Pontious, a Texas ranch house designed by OWIU, is a home grounded in its owner's cultural identity, uniting Californian, Chinese and Japanese roots
-
The three lives of the Edith Farnsworth House: now, a modernist architecture icon open to allThe modernist Edith Farnsworth House has had three lives since its conception in 1951 by Mies van der Rohe; the latest is a sensitive renovation, and it's open to the public
-
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
