ADU : RE-THINK
ADU: The location of ADU is a beneficial effect on design. One of the typical locations of the garage in old houses of Los Angeles is the rear end of property after a long driveway. The driveway is used as a parking space for the front house also as a walkway leading to the back house. We want to make this walkway for the renters to feel entering to their own place by designing a gravel path and gate with a front garden.
ADU is located further inside from the street, the view of the street beyond from the new house is much deeper and enjoyable.
ADU: Building shape and material become identity Turfstone pavers laid in herringbone pattern and it generates natural edges for the landscape. The gravels contrast with the pattern. Functionally, the turfstone permeable paver allows rainwater to be gradually filtered back into the soil naturally, resulting in the control and stabilization of soil erosion. The volume initiated from a minimum length of overhang by the code is created into an angled geometry. It is attractive and functional.
The smooth white painted MDO panel and aluminum exterior finish contrasts with the cement/gravel finish. The courtyard pavers continue the same aesthetic with the walls. The contained geometry always set the boundary for the natural or uncontrollable materials and this contrast is creating more effective materiality.
We applied a new building finish technique to make this hidden monolithic object grounded between two houses. Regarding the materials for the exterior, the old-time construction technique from Korea has been experimented in the walls of the house. It is called “Jongseok Mijang” and it is scraping process a few hours later after the cement/gravel mixture applies to the wall. The mock ups had been implemented before it actually applied to the walls. The variation of gravel sizes and shapes, the cement color and amount of sand affect the result of the finish. It is also affected by the weather. Its strong and brutal finish is visual when the scraped-out pocket gets shadow effect in a metal trimmed volume. The finish also becomes energy efficient. The thermal mass that the walls provide to a building are able to absorb heat during the day and release it at night. This passive transfer smooths out heat transmission through the walls and limits the need for mechanical systems.
The exterior angled line of overhang continues interior ceiling line to complete the rectangular shape. This creates soffit lights in the living/kitchen open space.