anonymous architects has completed its ‘big and small house’, a residence located on a steep hillside in los angeles. overlooking the cityscape below, the slight 900 square foot home brilliantly uses a concrete pile foundation to cantilever off of the slope. this structural gesture serves to mimic the formerly vacant site’s open plan as well as pull in generous amounts of natural illumination. the residence contains only two full height walls, allowing for diffused sunlight to pervade the airy, lofted space.

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesall images courtesy of anonymous architects

 

 

the architectural approach favors floating volumes, both in that the building’s relationship to the ground is limited to four small pilotis and that the structure encloses an unusual geometry of an asymmetric parallelogram. white oak interiors and unadorned planes are dematerialized by the skylights and glazed apertures. the verticality of the seamed metal cladding creates crisp lines that define an elevation mirrored in plan. the result is a home that accesses the idiosyncrasies of the site and re-imagines them as beneficiaries of the architecture.

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesa slight footprint belies a brilliant orchestration of space 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesthe cladding delineates the asymmetric volumes

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesangled glazing is both light-capturing and provides cross ventilation 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesthe ground level contains a large room with an open plan and mixed program 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesthe residence contains only 2 full height walls which allow diffused light to help open the space 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesan example of efficiently used space 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeleslight, glazing and material differentiate the program 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesthe cantilevered form opens the house to the landscape 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesa view of the hallway behind the stair 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles(left) every square foot is maximized with program, especially niches and lofts (right) vertical circulation is pushed to the very limits of the plan

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesa lofted bedroom is punctured with light 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesapertures are strategically cut to the ground and ceiling 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesthe geometries of light work in conjunction with the framed landscape 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesthe slight home maximizes the optimally positioned site 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelessite plan

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angelesfloor plan / level 0 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

floor plan / level +1 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

wall section 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

south elevation

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

east elevation 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

north elevation

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles

west elevation

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