The house is organized around a wood clad cabinetry core that is designed to read as an object within the space. The cabinetry throughout the home made of Mangaris, which was selected for it’s warm tone and subtle grain pattern.
La Maida Residence
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location: .Valley Village, CA
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program: .Residential
.............area: .Renovated: 890 sf Added: 245 sf
...........client: .Private
..........status: .Completed
The La Maida Residence is a home for a young music industry couple and their two small children in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. The project was designed to be built in phases, allowing the house to grow with the family.
In the first phase, the challenge was to open up the existing 890 sf house, which was overly subdivided with tiny rooms and unnecessary halls. The architect opened up the plan by creating a large living and dining room flow into the kitchen and the garden beyond.
A peninsula with bar seating is a comfortable space to entertain or oversee homework when working in the kitchen.
The home is organized around a Mangaris wood clad “core” that houses service functions, such as the bathroom, laundry, and storage.
View of the rear yard from the kitchen. The kitchen door and windows meet the stone counter to emphasize the continuity of the cabinetry and allows for food to be presented on the counter when dining outdoors.
View of the subsequent addition.
The core intersects with a large skylight vault that brings light and a sense of expansion into the center of the house.
A light filled hall form the transition between bedrooms and the more public areas of the house.
A hall cuts through the core, creating a threshold between the public and private areas of the house. At the south end of the core, the ceiling is vaulted to large skylights that bring natural light into the center of the house.
At the center of the house, the ceiling vaults to large skylights. The wood clad core intersects with the vault to emphasize the interplay of these elements.
View of the entry and living room prior to the renovation.
View of the kitchen prior to the renovation which was small, even by 1950’s standards.