Gregory Ain, Architect | Park Planned Homes, 1948

Gregory Ain, Architect :: Park Planned Homes, 1948. High in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles and bordering the Pasadena Waldorf School campus, this extraordinary neighborhood of twenty-eight Modern homes remains a thriving and vital social experiment. Where the architect’s Mar Vista tract was conceived as low-cost housing for the masses, the Park Planned homes were forecast as “miniature estates”, larger homes on more generous lots, but still incorporating the collective spirit, cost benefits of prefabrication, and design sensibilities that defined Ain’s pioneering work. With landscape architect Garrett Eckbo’s collaboration, the neighborhood feels like a park, with no front fences and continuous planting to unify the experience. Side-facing garages shelter individual homes from the street, and interior courtyards further buffer living spaces from public spaces, providing a sense of privacy within the larger community. While forward-looking and progressive, ahead of its time, the architecture is at once elemental and timeless: rooted in the earth, with walls of glass facing private gardens, responsive to the climate, with clerestory windows and skylights bringing natural light and cross-ventilation to the interior of every room, and anchored by a hearth at the heart of the home. Today, the neighborhood remains a tight-knit community of like-minded architecture lovers who value the positive lifestyle benefits stimulated by good design. This individual home has been enhanced by tasteful remodeling, sensitive to the original design intent and improved with a more open floor plan. The new kitchen connects directly to the living and dining areas, with custom cabinets, quartz countertops, decorative tile backsplash, high-end stainless steel appliances, and a built-in breakfast bar fabricated from a sycamore tree on site. The new bathroom features a deep soaking tub, textured porcelain tile, and an attractive built-in vanity . New heating and air conditioning, European hardware, tankless water heater, and a new roof by the previous owner ensure that this home will continue to thrive well into the future.