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To accommodate a young family leaving New York City, design firm Stewart-Schafer revamped the kitchen and living areas of an outdated upstate home in just three months.

Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.

These projects cleverly address issues ranging from affordable housing to building sustainably in the face of climate change.

Photo by Aldo Lanzi

When architects Thomas Karsten and Alexandra Erhard toured the raw industrial space, they were struck by how much light streamed in, a gift bestowed by large windows and the rare presence of a private patio.