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Architects: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects
- Area: 2018 m²
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Photographs:Matthew Millman
Text description provided by the architects. Far from the glitz and glitter of Hollywood, Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney designed this Los Angeles home for a half-Taiwanese, half-Chinese family seeking rest and peace. The busy couple—both are attorneys—and their two children who live in this house in Santa Monica, California, had a straightforward yet ambitious brief for the EYRC Architects team: They wanted “a place to get away from it all”.
Built on an 830-square-meter plot, the new two-story structure, spread over 440 square meters—including a second-level exterior deck—was perfectly tailored for the dwellers to spend quality time surrounded by beautiful views. The couple— she is from China and was born in Korea and he is from Taiwan and was born in Pennsylvania—and their two teenagers imagined their dwelling as an oasis for rest and reflection.
These needs immediately resonate with the approach of Takashi Yanai, partner and residential studio director at Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects. “When you are connected to nature, you are in tune with the universe. Even a blossoming tree can ground a person”, he says. “That is a Japanese way of thinking and making buildings.”
Born in Japan and raised in Southern California, Yanai—who studied literature and philosophy before becoming an architect—infuses all his projects with California modernist influences and reinterpreted Japanese elements. This home is no exception.
The structure consists of three imbricated boxes with different sizes and colors (white stucco, grey, and larch siding). A concrete walkway leads to the ground floor among the peaceful gravel garden, which comprises an L-shaped living room and dining area. The kitchen helps to both connect and delimitate the spaces. All around, floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors open up entirely to the exterior. “Maximizing the connection to the yard was really important”, the EYRC team says. “The grass literally comes up to the very edge of the house, softening this relationship and making it into an outdoor living room.”
While concrete is predominant downstairs (through the floors and bench/fireplace), white oak wood floors were preferred for the second level, which hosts the master suite and the two children’s bedrooms (each with its own bathroom). The color palette is minimal, and simplicity is revealed through materials and spaces.
A sculptural staircase invites the dwellers and their visitors to discover the open-to-sky meditation deck, which encapsulates the whole spirit of this Zen project connected to nature. Here, in California, the Japanese concept of “ma”, which refers to the notion of the interval between things, is honored through a subtle balance between the void and the built.
