Architecture

Through an integral relationship between use, form, and material, the Low/Rise House responds sensitively to site, nature, and neighborhood, creating a new type of suburban living – both urban and rural.

The original home’s dilapidated rear wall was in such poor condition that Roberts called it “an opportunity in disguise.” She removed the wall and built a two-story addition that features double-glazed windows and sliding doors for unified entertaining inside and in the garden.

A Bensen Radius dining table and Hudson chairs by Emeco stand between the kitchen and the living room.

The $33.5M expansion not only provides 3.4 acres of additional space to the 9.1 acre garden to accommodate its rapid visitor growth, but also—and most importantly—enhance its ability to immerse visitors in traditional Japanese arts and culture. It also provides space for educational programs and events, and a training center to teach the tenets of Japanese gardening in English.

In a Manhattan Beach home, homeowner Matt Jacobson and architect Michael Lee designed the long steel-and-Ipe bench surrounding a square, concrete outdoor fire pit, which suspends from the low concrete wall in their outdoor space. Dukes relaxes on a Willy Guhl Loop chair with her German Shepherd, Major.

Front Approach