How They Pulled It Off: A “Superwall” That Adds Privacy (and Storage) to a 1970s Condo

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

Many renters who aspire to own their home can’t help but fantasize about what they’d do to their space if only their names were on the deed. For professional architects and designers like Marisa Kurtzman, a partner at Los Angeles firm Frederick Fisher and Partners, such hypotheticals are inevitable.

Since 2018, she and her then-boyfriend, writer and podcast producer Gideon Brower, learned to live with the limitations of their townhouse located in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood. The two-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot unit in a wood-clad complex built in the early 1970s channeled Moore, Lyndon, Turnbull and Whitaker (MLTW) and Joseph Esherick at Sea Ranch vibes. Its groovy California charm, proximity to the ocean, high ceilings, and an appealing split-level layout allowed them to gloss over some drawbacks. All the while, Marisa "fantasized about how I would fix up the place if we owned it," she says. 

A lot changed in the years that followed. Marisa and Gideon got married, had a daughter, and bought the unit from the original owners, who happened to be the building’s developers. Their growing family and working from home during the pandemic accelerated the urgency of addressing the space’s nagging inefficiencies—especially upstairs, where an open loft served as the very-not-soundproofed primary bedroom and potentially valuable space was wasted.

Marisa eventually devised a solution to these dilemmas that specifically addressed work-from-home demands. She designed a partial-height, blonde plywood partition capped with a band of operable windows that enhances the structure’s existing clerestory. "Suddenly, the space divider was everything: More storage, a natural light and ventilation source, and separation from downstairs," Marisa explains. "That’s when we started calling it ‘the Superwall.’" This feature divides the space into a 240-square-foot bedroom/office at the rear, with a bonus cozy library alcove perched over the living room. "What could have been a leftover space is now my favorite room in the house," Marisa says.

Researching the building proved to be another rewarding exercise. Their next-door neighbor helped connect Marisa with the son of the architect, Bryan Greenfield, who had spent part of his childhood in one of the townhouses. He was eager to recall his fond memories of the place, and mentioned that legendary architectural photographer Julius Shulman documented the cluster of tiered, shed roof-topped units soon after construction was completed on the gently sloping site. Another neighbor helped her track down the original architectural drawings. And because four of the five condos have a similar layout, Marisa now has a template that could be useful to others as well.

How they pulled it off: A "Superwall" that does it all

• Create a purpose statement: As the director of visioning, programming, and planning at Frederick Fisher and Partners, Marisa adapted the strategic big-thinking skills she uses at work to her family’s needs at home. She and Gideon started the design process by creating a purpose statement to help identify priorities and guide the couple’s decision-making, while allowing for future flexibility. "We also wanted to combine practicality with a bit of whimsy," she says. "That’s kind of who we are as people, too."

• Collaborate with your contractor: Marisa hired Seed, a millwork and furniture design and manufacturing firm, as the renovation’s general contractor. Seed’s founder, Reeve Schley, is a designer himself, so she knew he’d be willing to be an active participant in helping refine the vision and be detail-oriented during construction.

• Get a cost estimate before finishing the design: Marisa incorporated the practice of paying for a rough cost estimate halfway through the design process—common for institutional architectural projects, but rare in a residential context. This reality check helped better align the goals and budget. Plain-sawn plywood proved to be an economical choice that also complements the existing rough lumber structure and wood plank ceiling. She could prioritize interior architectural details that, when precisely executed, proved impactful, such as extending the plane of the closet top over the bedroom door, which she notes creates a sense of threshold and continuity. "In the end, we invested our money in what really mattered to us and dramatically transformed our home, both functionally and aesthetically," she shares.

"I felt like I was collaborating across time with my home’s architect," Marisa says. "Although the fifty-year-old interior needed a refresh, I could see he had put a lot of smart, creative thinking into the design, and I did my best to respect and amplify that." The Superwall achieves this objective and more. "When I need to focus or rest, I just shut the door, and it’s like I’m in an airlock."

Project Credits:

Architect: Marisa Kurtzman, Frederick Fisher and Partners

Builder/General Contractor: Seed Furniture

Structural Engineer: Parker Resnick Structural Engineering

Cabinetry Design/Installation: Seed Furniture 

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