the LADG completes art studio and residential compound in suburban los angeles

​the los angeles design group​ (the LADG) has completed a multifaceted art studio and residential compound for a pair of professional visual artists, a painter and a photographer. the project, named ‘house in los angeles 1′, comprises an addition to the clients’ existing mid-century home, a guest house that provides studio space for their work, and dedicated structures for exhibitions and events. situated in the middle of a deep residential block in highland park, a neighborhood in northeast LA, the compound’s four structures are joined to the street by a long drive. the layout of the site allows its users to move seamlessly between indoor and outdoor space.

all images by saam gabay

‘our project defies and reorganizes some of the architectural tropes associated with LA suburbia,’ explains claus benjamin freyinger, co-founder and co-principal of the LADG. ‘it’s not a single house with a unified program, meant to contain a sleeping family at night, who commute off to work and school lives in the morning. it’s a collection of buildings that integrates work, living, and communal activities around the livelihoods of two artists.’

visually, the various structures are connected by a collection of freestanding walls that were inspired by the site’s existing ranch house — particularly the way it evoked the mid-century, post-war ‘dream homes’ designed by los angeles architect cliff may. ‘may’s residential designs are remarkable because of the way walls and interior elements appear to float free on the ground plane, without simply reiterating the boundary of the roof above,’ adds andrew holder, co-founder and co-principal of the LADG.

catering to a casual indoor-outdoor lifestyle, the project’s plan is defined by its looseness, with the entire site conceived as a series of disconnected rooms that exist between the walls that occupy the site. meanwhile, roofs are placed loosely on top of the walls to shelter the guest house, studio, and the carport/event space. this arrangement reorganizes the property (inclusive of the original home) into nine bays, each of which is assigned a different activity. reciprocal relationships emerge between spaces that may be out of view of one another, on opposite sides of a wall.

modest materials have been used throughout the scheme, with the lowest portions of the buildings made of poured-in-place board-formed concrete. above, the walls are white smooth troweled stucco. the interior surfaces are equally unassuming and reveal the process of making, reflecting the compound’s function as a flexible space for making and showing art. native grasses will be planted in the rear-most yard behind the studio, while furniture will accumulate over time as the clients discover the places they enjoy spending their daily routine.

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project info:

name: house in los angeles 1
location: los angeles, CA
client: undisclosed
site area: 28,000 sqf lot (2,601 sqm)
building area: approximately 2,000 sqf (186 sqm) enclosed area in new construction
project dates: 2015 (design start) – 2019 (construction complete)
architect/designer: the LADG (los angeles design group)
design principal: andrew holder and claus benjamin freyinger
project team: william adams, lori choi, anthony chu, kenji hattori, thomas pompeani, jonathan rieke, morgan starkey, trenman yau

structural engineer: kwesi asamoah
lighting designer: alex babiani
contractor: t.r. wurster construction company inc.
civil engineer: daryl kessler, KES technologies
geology and soils: christina clark, irvine geotech

important manufacturers / consultants —
lighting: GE porcelain base, juno theatrical lighting, hubbell vaportile
AC: samsung ceiling cassette, mitsubishi wall unit
wall surfaces: drywall, exposed studs, reinforced plastic sheathing (interior); elastomeric smooth trowel stucco, asphalt shingle, boardform CIP concrete
roof: custom-bilt standing seam metal roof