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Collection by Luke Hopping

Eco-Friendly Homes in Los Angeles

Los Angeles isn't all mansions and superhighways. As these eight homes demonstrate, sustainability is within reach in America's second largest city.

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Wakeland goes to work on the garden terraces where the couple grows much of their own food.
Wakeland goes to work on the garden terraces where the couple grows much of their own food.
In Scarpa and Brook' own house, they’ve mounted luminous solar panels in a rusted-steel-beam grid to form a modernist canopy that frames the façade. This imaginative “solar umbrella” hides the household power plant in plain sight, part of an artful composition that includes a hanging screen tied with bristles of industrial brooms. Photo by Marvin Rand.
In Scarpa and Brook' own house, they’ve mounted luminous solar panels in a rusted-steel-beam grid to form a modernist canopy that frames the façade. This imaginative “solar umbrella” hides the household power plant in plain sight, part of an artful composition that includes a hanging screen tied with bristles of industrial brooms. Photo by Marvin Rand.
Auburn 7 developer and resident Michael Kyle hangs with his dog Moxy in the front yard of the unit owned by his codeveloper Todd Wexman; he is joined by residents Francisco, Camille, and young Sophia Apple Owens.
Auburn 7 developer and resident Michael Kyle hangs with his dog Moxy in the front yard of the unit owned by his codeveloper Todd Wexman; he is joined by residents Francisco, Camille, and young Sophia Apple Owens.
For the facade, exposed to the constant salt air, the team considered everything from copper or zinc to Kynar-coated aluminum. Eventually, a sample of titanium was tacked up for six months and showed no wear. “Part of the green philosophy is not just what is cheaper; it’s what’s sustainable,” Cranston explains. “The titanium cladding was more expensive, but this is a house we plan to be in for the rest of our lives, so we wanted something that needed virtually no maintenance.”
For the facade, exposed to the constant salt air, the team considered everything from copper or zinc to Kynar-coated aluminum. Eventually, a sample of titanium was tacked up for six months and showed no wear. “Part of the green philosophy is not just what is cheaper; it’s what’s sustainable,” Cranston explains. “The titanium cladding was more expensive, but this is a house we plan to be in for the rest of our lives, so we wanted something that needed virtually no maintenance.”
The layering of the remodeled house is revealed in this image of Robin and Jeremy relaxing on the front deck.
The layering of the remodeled house is revealed in this image of Robin and Jeremy relaxing on the front deck.
The lower living space on the ground floor of a Los Angeles, California, home features an EcoSmart fireplace fueled by denatured alcohol. Read the full article here.
The lower living space on the ground floor of a Los Angeles, California, home features an EcoSmart fireplace fueled by denatured alcohol. Read the full article here.
Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.
Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.