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 angeles - 2all 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 - 3

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 4a slight footprint belies a brilliant orchestration of space 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 5the cladding delineates the asymmetric volumes

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 6angled glazing is both light-capturing and provides cross ventilation 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 7the ground level contains a large room with an open plan and mixed program 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 8the residence contains only 2 full height walls which allow diffused light to help open the space 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 9an example of efficiently used space 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 10light, glazing and material differentiate the program 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 11the cantilevered form opens the house to the landscape 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 12a view of the hallway behind the stair 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 13(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 angeles - 14a lofted bedroom is punctured with light 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 15apertures are strategically cut to the ground and ceiling 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 16the geometries of light work in conjunction with the framed landscape 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 17the slight home maximizes the optimally positioned site 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 18

 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 19site plan

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 20floor plan / level 0 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 21

floor plan / level +1 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 22

wall section 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 23

south elevation

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 24

east elevation 

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 25

north elevation

anonymous architects: big and small house, los angeles - 26

west elevation

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