Love It or Hate It? Grass Lawns

"The average age of farmers keeps on rising, and that inherited knowledge might be gone at some point," says Eugene. "I thought it was really alarming." He designed and built Togather to help support a younger generation of farmers.

An energy-efficient TPO membrane covers the living room’s zigzag roof.

The two new buildings create a courtyard-like feel in the small urban backyard.

“The addition is oriented towards the sun and faces the original Californian bungalow, allowing you to look at the heritage house from the new part and vice versa,” said Welsch. “It combines two unlikely architectural expressions—the casualness and generosity of a lightweight timber-clad building with the heaviness of earth construction.”

Twenty-foot-wide doors from Solar Innovations offer easy access to the deck. “Solar Innovations was the only manufacturer at that time that had a pocket multi-slider with a good ADA threshold,” says architect Erick Mikiten. “They almost look like steel, but are thermally broken aluminum.”

A view further back shows the gently sloping hill and long driveway to the right. The property's 24.75 acres offer a private retreat with access to many regional hubs.

Another view of the front facade shows the green roof that tapers into the yard at each end. Sedum, a low-maintenance grass was installed along the roof by Sweden-based Veg Tech.

The centrally placed pool also serves as a focal point for many spaces within the L-shaped home. The patio is also surrounded by a lush lawn and plantings.

Paved stairs lead down to a lush lawn and the home’s main entrance: a pivoting front door that opens to a two-story atrium. Greenery dangles from planters integrated into the second floor, while additional pavers connect two sliding glass doors in the living room.

The large pocket doors of Mandeville Canyon House open up the corner of the living room to the concrete terrace and lawn beyond. This house, designed by Dutton Architects, is perfect for informal living and taking advantage of the southern California climate.

A large portion of the 9,348-square-foot lot is taken up by the flat lawn.

The view from the rear lawn towards the house. The outdoor living room is accessible from the family room (on the right) and the living room (on the left).

“We sculpted the lawn, so it became layered, almost like an amphitheater,” says Wyllie, who salvaged stones from the site to create steps down to the yard.

The design team painted the exterior a dark, charcoal gray and sliced a two-story volume through the facade, removing part of the second floor to create the double-height space.

The expansive grassy lawns features several ponds, fountains, native greenery, and even a tea house.

“We wanted low maintenance,” says Szczerbicki of the home’s exterior, which was clad in cedar and oiled once. “We’ll watch it patina and go gray with time.”

To the front, the gardens are laid around a central lawn with a circling driveway which provides parking. There is also a garage for family cars.

Alloi's design solution for the exterior envelope included exterior rigid insulation to reduce solar heat gain, and recycled newspaper blown-in cellulose insulation at interior and exterior walls, creating an energy efficient and peacefully quiet home.