Temple Hills Residence

The design for the Temple Hills Residence is a study in connections. The project is an addition and remodel to an existing 1940’s post and beam beach cottage located in Laguna Beach, California. This beach front artist enclave takes pride in its eclectic neighborhoods and their connections to the past. We developed a design capturing the essence of the existing cottage and then reinterpreted traditional post and beam into something unique. The resulting solution is a house of two faces. Sitting harmoniously side by side these two elements of the house are connected through a thin sheet of glass. Nestled into a steeply sloping property, the new addition steps up the hillside to the rear of the existing home creating an ascending series of interior and exterior spaces giving access to all levels of the property. While the existing home creates the traditional base for the house, the new addition exploits the modular nature of post and beam connections. A seemingly monolithic concrete mass anchors the addition from which structure and glass pin wheel off creating ever dematerializing living spaces that continue to open up to the views as one moves up through the home. Forming the base of sustainable strategies employed throughout the home is the reuse of the entire existing home. In addition, solar orientation, deep overhangs and operable glass allow the house to breath throughout the year with little assistance. The mix of exposed building materials forms the pallet of the home eliminating the need for additional finishes.