THOMPSON-MAKIN RESIDENCE

Los Angeles CA: 1990

The clients, a married couple with one child, wished to build for themselves a residence on the same lot as an existing house owned by the wife's mother. The property, located just north of Los Angeles International Airport, lies on a cul-de-sac within a 50’s-era single family housing development. The new 1500 SF residence is of the same approximate size as the existing house, which was required to remain as the mother's residence. Although certain of the functions contained within the new residence are shared between the two households--the garage, kitchen and dining room--both parties deemed that the two residences on the property be considered separate and distinct.

The new residence is organized within a rectangular three-storey structure which runs along the southern edge of the property, in lieu of an existing garage. The residence is stratified into a lower level of common facilities shared with the existing house, and an upper two levels of private living quarters. The central living space, a two-story outdoor room, is located at the second level; in conjunction with the living room adjacent. This space affords commanding views over the landscape reaching to the ocean. The proportions and orientation of the room assure adequate shade and cross-ventilation even at the hottest times of day. A hive-like study, clad in sheet metal, hangs in the southwest corner, with a seating area beneath. At the opposite corner, a stair balcony swings out toward the study from the master bedroom above. Below it, another stair, wedged between the existing house and the new addition, cascades down to the rear yard from the enclosed court, establishing a connection between the two distinct types of exterior space (the outdoor room vs. backyard. Though this stair appears to separate the new and existing structures, they are in fact linked beneath it.

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