The buildable site of this beautiful Bel Air Residence is an existing two-acre plateau, set sixty feet below the access road, affords panoramic views of Westwood, the Pacific Ocean, and the Canyon. The program, orientation, and topography provoked a composite courtyard parti that layers the site through the house, integrating the terraces and lawns. Designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, this Californian residence has everything for itself: a luxurious residential area – Bel Air, an impressive view on Westwood, the Pacific Ocean and the Canyon.
The primary volumetric element of the house, orienting south, west, and north, accommodates the dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, and staff apartment on the ground level; the game room and three children’s bedrooms on the second level; a guest suite, exercise room and a massage room on the third level.
The sauna building/guest house, as well as the pool and terrace, are located on the eastern portion of the site, extending the outdoor spaces and completing the overall site building design strategy.
Compositionally and formally, this house presents the most articulated, hierarchical, and consolidated plan graphic to date, which is further reinforced by its volumetric resolution. The primary sculptural element is the reverse cone at the west end of the circulation spine that anchors and orients the house to its site, as well as to its primary interior spaces.
