Collection by Andrew Chiacchierini
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The yellow door is the house's official entrance, but the family naturally gravitates to the movable glass walls.
The guest room has a murphy bed and built-in desk. “We maximized space using everything I’ve learned from living in Hong Kong for over 20 years,” the owner says.
The firm custom made the office desks, and paired them with chairs designed and manufactured by their friend, the Spanish artist, Dr. Cato. The table lamps are midcentury finds.
The 22-square-meter space is just large enough to comfortably fit a small kitchen, office space, storage, and a bathroom.
Living areas in Des Érables Residence revolve around the double-height dining room. Naturehumaine sought to “modulate a degree of intimacy according to the usage.”
The built-in sofa anchors the living room and faces the existing fireplace. The Leather Oval Chair with a red steel base sits off to the side, and the coffee table was fashioned by attaching vintage steel legs to another tile sample board.
Raj and Watts extended the fireplace column to the ceiling to highlight the room’s expansive scale, and had it coated in concrete plaster. It was important to retain the wood-burning fireplace—a rarity in the city—but “we wanted to re-clad it in a material that also spoke to the industrial past of the building,” says Raj.
The first-floor living room features a dramatic fireplace with a concrete surround and solid brass shelves that frame the wood storage and shelving.
The most costly parts of the build were the board-formed concrete walls and fireplace. “We believe it was worth spending the money here for a few reasons,” reveals architect Cavin Costello. “The mass anchors the house into the landscape, and the material is incredibly durable—something we need in the harsh desert sun. The board-forms give the home a wonderful character.”
“At first we thought the fireplace was going to be too big… but now I think it’s just fabulous,” says Donna.
Birdseye designed the home to be "as visually quiet as possible," says Mac.
In the living room, the team raised the firebox, cladded the hearth in a tactile plaster finish, and installed a floating limestone bench that wraps the column. On the left (unseen) is integrated firewood storage, and a cozy reading nook sits on the right. "The bench was designed to be used as a social space/lounge, and is well-used," says Coffey. The wood beams and red brick were scraped and stripped many times to remove the silver paint and reclaim a natural state.
Resident Manon van der Zwaal’s home exemplifies the open design and natural materials common to all 30 structures.
Designed by Cal Poly Pomona students, this factory-built Wedge cabin prototype features plywood interiors for a raw and rustic vibe.
While the back part of the house originally housed the bathroom and laundry rooms, all but making the adjacent garden inaccessible, the new design places the living and dining spaces in this area to maximize natural light. Commonly available materials are used throughout the home, such as plywood and the industrial tresses that criss-cross the open-plan living area.
The studio’s artist wanted a workspace that would be a blank canvas. Accordingly, sustainably sourced birch plywood was seamlessly used throughout the interior space. When it becomes weathered, damaged, or covered in paint, it can be easily removed and replaced.
The house’s dominant gable form repeats at a smaller scale throughout the dwelling, as in the kitchen’s plywood and steel cabinets. “The gable became thematic throughout the process,” Maynard explains. “Whenever issues arose, we referred back to it as a default, rather than adding a new idea." The sink is by Abey, faucet by Franke, and range by Qasair.
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