When Bo Sundius and Hisako Ichiki of Bunch Design began imagining an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to place in the backyard of their friend and former SCI-Arc classmate Laura Cowan Higuchi and her husband, Clifford Higuchi, they found unlikely inspiration in the form of Stop Making Sense, the beloved 1984 concert movie documenting the Talking Heads’ performance at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.

The goal was to make the 750-square-foot ADU in Los Angeles’s Atwater Village seem larger than it actually is. Laura’s father was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly after she and Clifford married, and they needed more space and financial flexibility. “We were frustrated by not having enough room for visitors—let alone a place to help care for ailing family members,” says Laura, an architectural designer for local practice Jerde.

Conceptualizing ways to emphasize space, the designers struck on Stop Making Sense. Says Sundius, “In particular, we pictured that moment when David Byrne walks out in the big suit and starts shimmying across the stage, and the fabric of his suit is completely separate from the frame of his body.”

In the same way Byrne’s jumbo suit enlarges his frame, Sundius and Ichiki installed angled clerestory windows that create a sense of detachment between the walls and ceiling of the ADU. “Space inside a home is perceived as the way walls meet other walls, a ceiling, and a floor,” Sundius says. “Blurring the way these elements come together can make something small feel huge.”

The rectangular plan comprises four 12-foot-long rooms: a living room and office, a kitchen and dining room with a bathroom bump-out, and a bedroom at both ends. Dark blue sliding doors section the boldly painted rooms, allowing for privacy when needed. Overhead, chunky trusses add exaggerated mass and drama to the ceiling, reinforcing the idea of separation between it and the walls. “The fat trusses filter sunlight and loosen the whole space up,” Sundius says.

When the sliding doors are open, the green, blue, red, and orange walls of the different rooms create a vibrant visual display. “Color has been an important thread in my career and relationship, and it only seemed appropriate to be exuberant in our color choices for the ADU,” Laura says. “In architecture, color is such a powerful tool. My generation was taught that only glass, steel, and concrete is an acceptable palette and that to use color was inherently female, other, or unacceptable, so to me, each bold swatch feels like empowerment.”

The colors featured in Laura and Clifford’s ADU are taken from life. The blue sliding doors and navy living room are inspired by old denim or a favorite pair of jeans. “The orange of the north bedroom is the same color as the front door, and was inspired by the fading sunset light,” Laura says. “The niche on the south end is a deep magenta and was inspired by the color of an accent wall in our previous home.”

According to Ichiki, Laura and Clifford’s color choices enlivened the ADU design. “They wanted more color than what we had in the prototype, and I think that made the house feel more personal,” she says.

Layered on top of the color-blocked palette, the way sunlight interacts with neighboring trees and the interiors further activates the design. “Sunlight and shadow come through the trees and beautifully sneak in and out of the house as the time changes,” Ichiki says. “The room towards the front has a large triangular upper window, and the light is amazing when the sky is that crazy L.A. sunset color.”

Sundius and Ichiki’s designs are always informed by their context. “In this project, the lushness of the neighbor’s yard really helped shape the design,” Ichiki says. “We often talk about ‘borrowed view,’ a concept inspired by traditional Japanese design, and we really banked on it with this project.”

The ever-changing quality of natural light is Laura and Clifford’s favorite thing about the Stop Making Sense ADU. “It’s the most spectacular part of this project,” Laura says. “Each room has a completely different light quality that changes throughout the day, and in the evening, the whole house glows like a lantern.”

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Project Credits:

Architecture: BunchADU by Bunch Design / @bunch_design

Construction: Casa Vieja Contractors

Structural Engineer: Craig Phillips Engineering & Design, Inc.