2 skinny homes interlock like a puzzle on small LA lot
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2021
- Kevin Daly and Dana Cuff bought a small, rundown home in Santa Monica, and worried about the lack of density in LA, they decided to create two homes on the small lot. Not wanting to prioritize one for light and views, they built identical skinny homes that cut in and out of each other to harvest light and access to the outdoors.
Reacting to “arcane and arbitrary zoning regulations”, Daly designed a long prismatic object “faceted and shaped to meet requirements for setback and upper story stepbacks”.
They explain: “The units are seemingly identical-with living, kitchen, and dining downstairs and a loft mezzanine, private interior courtyard, and rooftop garden above-yet one unit is not the mirror image of the other. Known in the natural sciences as chirality, a form of nearly identical difference makes each unit unique yet the same, conveying a reciprocal relationship between elements as they move away from the central wall in opposite configurations. This linearity allows both units to have street frontage, a unique amenity that is not possible on typical lots where townhouses are built."
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"it's a skinny little house" - me, crying, living in London in a flat the size of that kitchen...I loved their approach though, thank you for sharing.
I understand - I live in a 1940’s 1000sqft home. 1,600sqft looks large to me.
Im in Melbourne and looking at this “tiny house” has me laughing…. how is this house tiny? Its literally so large? Also in any inner/ semi inner suburb of Melbourne this house would be $2,000,000 easily 🥲
@@jhey5639 It is probably around that price in LA, if not more
At least you don’t need a car for literally everything in London
You have my sympathies! When we visited London we stayed at the back of someone’s house. There was a “kitchenette-ette”, (it was too small to be called just a “kitchenette”!), a lounge area, bathroom off the stairs & a bedroom.
Though this was 28 years ago, it was memorable, as it seemed every inch was used and there was nowhere to put anything extra! We now live in a single storey home - what English people seem to derisively refer to as a “bungalow”! They’re still the most common homes here in Adelaide, South Australia.
I was raised in the LA area. My neighborhood was built with smallish houses on fairly large plots. Nice front and back lawns and gardens. Then came the desire to make every house big, big, big. The house I was raised in now has been expanded to the degree that the backyard is barely big enough for a barbecue and a couple of chairs. What is left of the front yard is dominated by a loop driveway in front. No need for it; it’s a quiet street. You can back out with your eyes closed and not hit anything. Everyone just seems to want more concrete and interior space and less green.
I was raised mostly in nature - farms, rural. Then I worked mostly in nature...tree planting, teaching skiing and snowboarding, WWOOFing..now I could understand why someone wouldn't want to spend a frikkin second in nature...it's flat scary...bears, weather, bugs...and reminds a lot of people of a meagre, hand to mouth subsistance and being at the mercy of something uncontrollable. I think concrete is like the comforter of civilization, blanketing one from all the stressors of tooth and claw.
Yes we need to use less concrete flooring in cities which is a major cause of flooding.
I was born in LA and I agree with you. There was a rush to build big big bigger, and unfortunately many of those houses are ugly ugly ugly. The city is famous for tacky McMansions, and I am glad that the designer featured here was able to make 2 good looking quality homes on 1 lot. He had to navigate all the code regulations aimed at preventing those McMansions, I think he did pretty well. It could have more green.
You can't do that where I live: increasing the volume of the buildings is forbidden, even if you do it on your own plot. The gardens/empty spaces are there to stay...
Most people hardly use their yards. If our cities were denser, we could also have more parks and farms close by. The big yard with pristine grass may be green, but it's not natural, not to mention the amount of chemicals and water it takes to keep it that way. If people want a big yard, fine, but don't mandate it.
I love how a skilled architect can re-envision how spaces fit together. The wall by the sidewalk being a planter, the pathway opening into a courtyard, the interface between homes flexing to become stairs and kitchen- great!
This is an extra interesting project. Thank you for finding it.
I disagree on Kevin's zoning issues - the Earth has to breath and drink. Plus the greenery softens the visual impact of such a different building.
The roof is fascinating - clever light harvest and it plays nicely with the shapes of the internal spaces. The sliding screen in the main bedroom is a nice feature.
Thanks for sharing your design, Kevin!
omg he explained the roof at least 4 times like it was impossible to understand that one side goes up as the other one goes down
Reminded of that boat architect with a Napoleon complex.
People tend to repeat the same thing when they have nothing else to say.
I’m one of those who no matter how much he repeated that, I couldn’t understand the concept.
I like the cork flooring, and when he said it is quiet that convinced me of using that for our future home.
Can confirm that cork is awesome.
Friends laid a cork floor in their kitchen and then had a party. The heels worn by most of the women resulted in multiple little dents in it. Must have been a nightmare to clean after that.
I have lived in Apts before, thats the feeling I get with these two Houses squeezed into one Lot. I am looking for a single story home with a nice size backyard and some distance between me and the neighbors, so far it means im getting further and further away from Downtown, I can live with that.
This is a very high-priced, seaside property. Most in this area are tearing down smaller homes to build apartments or giant homes. This is a somewhat better choice - both homes are bigger , more private, and have more green space than an apartment, but still adds a property to the scarce housing situation.
Often this does result in long commutes the demand for a second or third car. Not everybody works just remotely.
@@paxundpeace9970 we are all different, I used to commute 1 hour to and from work because the job I wanted was not near my home. I dont expect everyone to feel the same way but some like me are willing to make the sacrifice if it means I/we will have space to enjoy when we are home.
That makes you happy but doesn't do anything to solve the problem of urban density and stagnant building code laws. That's what this build was about.
1) some of those high places look incredibly hard to clean
2) I always thought the reason there is space between buildings/houses is to keep fire from spreading from one house to another thus burning down a whole town.
Yes, it is odd shaped and this make it difficult to maintain and get things replaced.
Yes and no. That is true that homes were and to build to protect against fire spreading.
But now you have more power engines and can contain fires better so less risk for a single houese fire to spread.
Appartment complexes are still a high risk when they are build from light construction wood with a lot of voids.
In case of an expanding wildfire if you can hold bundaries of a settlement your doomed till the fire reaches a wide road or other obstacle like a river. The fire storm would project amber several hundert feet even up to miles so no safety from that.
linear scheme really works with the outdoor space, it’s interlocked together with the half house to creat the maximum experience like a scroll painting of lighting and spaces.
Wait so let me get this right. When their roof peeks up, the neighbour's roof slopes down? Just checking......
Yes!!
I'd take one of those older homes any day.
And do what? Live how?
I am curious, seriously. I am not agreeing necessarily with the architect's vision, but there are more people living in urban spaces than at any other time in history. We are also dealing with technology in ways our immediate ancestors never imagined. What lifestyle do you think would not be able to be achieved in the spaces featured in this video? How does an older home work better?
Thanks in advance for your answer.
@@tdsims1963 The architectural style is unappealing for residential buildings. The style and material choices would make for a great looking office building. But who wants to live in an office building? Green architecture is being relegated to the sidelines as long as it is dominated by non mainstream styles. Personally, I'd rather live in a bungalow duplex with solar on the roof and a gray water system irrigating the community garden in a shared neighborhood backyard space. I appreciate his ingenuity and innovative spirit, but the harsh structure and tall fences feel like I'm cornering myself off from the world.
This is WAY above average... conceptually speaking....and when it comes to interior & exterior space design .
Congrats to them.
Thanks for sharing yet another good one ;)
Cheers from Portugal
I would have liked to see the (2) bathrooms & how he integrated them into this unique custom home. Also, I wish you would have asked him about the installation between the common walls & if you could possibly hear your neighbor if the music was too loud.
People that live in townhomes (like myself) will tell you that it really depends. Although all he built here was a duplex, and duplexs are not exactly a new idea either. Modern construction and soundproofing is pretty good about that stuff. I cant hear my neighbor almost at all and my place was built in 2001
This video was a little on the short side a little more detail about this build would have been nice!!... Interesting layout !
can’t conceptualize it well from the video or his disjunct explanation. could you post a floor plan?
I can appreciate the architecture and creative problem-solving, but I agree with other commenters that its disingenuous to blame the housing crisis solely on municipal or state zoning. While there is room to revise and modernize building regulations, I think building every square inch of available green space with luxury housing won't exactly help either.
Santa Monica is getting down right ugly with these "stunning architectural" homes. Gone is the feel of a seaside bungalow village with a nice ocean breeze across your yard. Block your neighbors view and air rights seems to be the entitlement games these days. Sad, like that one little house shows us, of the Santa Monica charm that once was.
As someone who lives in Santa Monica I completely agree. Most of the housing was built decades ago when upping the density was not desired...if it's ever really "desired". While at least this is an original design and interesting I wouldn't want to be the neighbor having to deal with someone now looking into my yard 24/7. People buy into a neighborhood with low density because that's what they want and are willing to pay more for. Not sure which neighborhood this is but I'm sure both of these units would cost somewhere between 1.5 - 2 million. Los Angeles where the politicians want to up the density but do next to nothing about the infrastructure.
Developers are building "luxury housing" because it's literally the only type of housing it's possible to build when zoning regulations in many cities, particularly in California, make multi-unit buildings unfeasible or straight-up illegal in many urban areas.
How can you build affordable housing when land prices are extremely high and zoning forbids medium- or high-density housing? It's impossible
@@e.l.france5136 It's legitimate to have an aesthetic preference for a "seaside bungalow village" over higher density, but we should be honest about the fact that the inevitable consequence of enforcing such a preference is low supply and high cost of housing, and sprawling, car-dependent communities
he isn't *blaming* the housing crisis on the zoning regulations, but he does indict them as a contributing factor
.. plus I don't consider this 'luxury housing' ... luxury housing is largely single family detached houses -- the opposite of the higher density development he is speaking about
I feel bad for the small one story house next door with huge buildings on either side.
I agree. I am sure that they did not want huge buildings looming over their homes, peering into their back yard.I would hate that.
Bad feng shui
Yeah... the definition of "density" keeps changing. Once, street after street of modest single-family homes was considered dense. Then someone comes along and decides that there should be two houses on those lots instead of one. Then someone else decided that each yard should instead be a condo tower!!! Does nobody take into account the traffic/utilities/sanitation/park usage/etc. that this causes?
Better than the huge apartment on the other side.
@@ravent3016 They are now boxed in.
I wondered how rain runoff works with a roof line like this and where does it go once off the roof? California does get torrential rainfall occasionally.
8:51
I have to agree with this kind of roofline it is very odd.
It does work and it doesn't look like they would have wet patches at the wall.
But construction of a roof like this is pretty hard and not perfect for mass production.
Agree. Leaks from the roof will be a potential issue in future years because there are so many fluctuations unless there is a rainwater collection system that could be used during rainy season
@@gnostic268 Its LA. Theres almost no rain. But it looked like they had drains in the roof.
at 9:23 I do not believe his point is valid, the building he is criticizing looks like it easily can be 6+ units, and he argues his design is intended to maximize density, as his lot which appears to be the same depth only has two units....... this sounds like an academic exercise to pass his design as something that is addressing a problem, but it really is not.
It`s not two apartments instead of six, it's two houses instead of one. If you want another old-style apartment block, that is, of course, an option.
Maximizing house density is different than building motel style apartment buildings. Of course the motel will have more units, but it's not about that. It's about having a nice, liveable house. Nobody wants to live in the matrix in a wall of pods. We want sunlight.
The question is how is it even allowed to have both on the same street at the same time? The entire street should be redeveloped according to a coherent model, not this mess
For someone shooting for density, the building has a lot of wasted space.
Yes and no.
Compared to an bigger apartment building it is a waste of space. Those are increasingly more difficult due to NIMBY culture. So many north american cities or developers are pushed to built condo (or less common apartment towers for rentals).
Compared to a classic single family house sitting alone on a lot it is a gain and almost a 100% improvement.
It is about the building missing middle allowing two units or more per lot with out building 4 or 5 stories high.
I’d be interested to hear how they isolated the bamboo so it won’t send sucker roots over to the neighbours property. It can be so beautiful, yet so invasive.
Some varieties of Bamboo are not invasive
Was thinking the same. I remember a neighbors' fight about the very thing.
Judging by the house it doesn't look like he cares much about what the neighbors think.
Plant inside of a metal box
Planted from right type of bamboo trees . There are certain varieties that don't spread. Or do you can do with mint, plant them in a container in the ground.
This is a lovely double but I totally disagree with his view on zoning - no one would want that massive structure right up against their 1940s cottage. I feel very badly for the original houses in that hood being overwhelmed by the megalith structure barons. This is a disservice to the community fabric.
Interesting. But I just couldn't visualize the floor plan or how the building worked with the lot size. I did like the outside treatments on the west elevation to reduce the sunlight & heat gain - that is quite clever. Los Angeles does need new building types but especially housing that conserves water and has gray water systems for watering outdoors.
Well considered project. Thoughtful and considerate of community. Kindly consider slowing down your pans and reducing unnecessary camera movement for those of us with visual disabilities.
I'm always amazed how little solar is utilized in sunny parts of the US. Why wouldn't this newer build have solar on the roof?
Why isn't solar part of the building regulations? Thats the question that needs to be asked.
Permit for those two structures must have been a nightmare.
The losers are the bungalows on both sides.
Really smart narrow house! Elegant forms that break up the bulk and create a sculptural shell. Great landscaping. A very useful inspiration for other developers and home owners.
I am obsessed with the beauty and utility of this wavy roof idea! 💡 What a brilliant way to bring in natural light! I think that humans read natural light as space. Very well designed!
God help you if you ever have to replace the roof.
Having lived in LA, that parking is so priceless!So beautiful on the inside and out. 💕
Beautiful home and brilliant planning. Congratulations to Kevin and Dana!
I'm certain someone else has already commented on this I just have not read all of the comments. The reason why houses are not built tigh6right next door to each other is probably because of fire regulations. Wood Houses used to be built very tightly together in America during the late 1800s to early 1900s which led to disastrous fires. Because one house would catch on fire and spread to the next one. I'm empathetic to their desire to bring light in but the house appears to tower over their neighbors casting their homes in darkness which seems a little selfish on their part. The house is strikingly out of character with the neighborhood. I think their house might look better on a more open are such as texas or Wyoming or Montana where there is more wide open space.
I love that the front gate becomes in a literal sense the front door to the house. It shows a defined space. It adds privacy, making those indoor/outdoor spaces more functional, adding to the square footage of the House, by the way of 'al fresco'.
"we're not going to solve the housing crisis by building 100 units a time"... sure, we won't because of limitations on where multifamily structures can be built. but that would be significantly cheaper and faster than building ADUs everywhere. not to mention they could be built in locations that make non-car transportation convenient, further lowering your cost of living
anyway, the cork flooring was interesting. I usually prefer hardwood but cork should do well at absorbing reflected sound
There's also the issue of lots zoned for multifamily dwellings instead being used by developers to circumvent single-family home size limitations. A McMansion fetching $5 million (and counting) is more worth it than a duplex or triplex on the same lot.
Russia is not famous for having a housing crisis like this .
They mass produced housing and in europe and asia mass produced housing mainly for rentals is pretty common. This can range from 2 or 3 stories appartment buildings too 15 stories like in Russia in the 1970s or 1980s
@@blueberry01120 5 Million dollar homes are usually in 5 million dollar neighborhoods .
Even in San Francisco other popular cities on the west coast normal homes don't usually cross the 2 million and are rather priced at 500k to a million.
Even many Mc Mansions are in not so desired places usually where land is not so expensive.
I do think that his comparison is adressing that building 100 units once isn't better then permitting to build a second or more unit on some of over 500,000 lots.
Although I can appreciate that the roof line is cleverly designed in terms of sharing light with the attached house, complex roofs like that add a lot of cost to the build, and are more prone to leaks, as well as being more expensive to repair. Interior spaces have a feeling they evoke based on proportions -- room width and length to ceiling height -- as well as window placement. Really high ceilings in a narrow room can sometimes feel institutional although this is much easier to tell when actually in a space instead of seeing it in a video.
My personal interest is in homes that maximize economy (cost to build as well as operate and maintain), simplicity and function, including use of multi-functional spaces, but are still beautiful and comfortable to live in. Ideally, the biggest need is for affordable housing that is functional and durable, and can be mass-produced to lower costs. The Boxabl Casita that Kirsten toured is an example of some promise in that direction, as well as some ideas in homes designed by students for the Solar Decathlon. We need brilliant architects who can rethink the entire building process, not just design unique and beautiful homes for themselves and other wealthy people.
My favorite part of this house is the cork floors.
Whilst appreciating the developers creativity, it concerns me that there is a general trend to fitting people into smaller homes. I live in a fairly small house in a dense neighbourhood built about 1900. Traditional architecture gave people light and a better patch of outdoor space than squeezing 2 homes into one lot.
There already isn’t enough room in LA. I commute 67 miles to job in Santa Ana.
Traditional architecture in the 1900 was 6 people living in 700 sq foot with no bathroom. The patch of space was there to grow food. If you could afford it, everyone always assumes they'd be one of the ones rich enough to live nicely if they went back in time. At the time you speak of 20% of the US population lived in crowded u unit's with families (average family size 5.5 people) jammed into one maybe 2 rooms. If they were lucky enough to live in the country the houses weren't much larger but lacked central heating and plumbing. The reason the houses that remain look so pretty and nice is that they were the exception, they were the nice houses so they survived, but don't presume they were how the majority lived.
@New Moon they could rebuild at higher density. There are many more densely populated areas than LA and surrounding…
@@wwaxwork yes, I should have thought about my comment a bit more. What ‘d say is that those houses that survive are still relatively high density (for houses, not apartments) . So I am excluding detached villas and considering large areas of terraced or closely spaced individual houses; a pattern which was emulated in the 1960’s social housing boom in the UK and by many private developers. Say houses of 600 to 1800 sq ft, with some sort of garden front & back. These give people room to breathe, optionally grow some food, small children a safe place to play and have sufficient flexibility to allow people to live their lives. So family of four 700 sq ft , 2 bed, house is what I grew up in, and it’s still a useful home for someone 60 years later.
@@Brian-jv8iy If by "working out well for Boulder", you mean working very well at making Boulder extremely expensive. So people have to live much farther away and drive to boulder, instead of being able to find a place in the city and walk/bike many more places.
Very nice one! I really loved this house from all the others you have shown in your videos.
I love the way the outside facade and the Bamboo look together and that roof line looks way better than all of the other houses in that whole area.
The houses looks very dark , consider how bright it is outside
Cork flooring is fantastic and I agree with him about why isnt there more of a n application of this product
one reason ( at least for me when I was considering cork flooring is that there is a lot of ignorance of cork and it is considered fragile.
Cork is quite cheap or considered cheap this is why some people don't like it.
Craziest real estate place on Earth absolutely.
Crazy expensive too, absolutely.
Fun.
Love that.
Thanks for finding unique homes to open our minds to different ways to live.
The layout gives the home a larger, more compound like feel in my opinion.
I am sure that the neighbors in the small single story homes next door did not want huge buildings looming over their homes, peering into their back yard. I would hate that.
Artificially enforcing car-dependent suburban sprawl isn't environmentally or economically sustainable.
I thank god every day that we have zoning regulations. Without them, my neighbor would block out the sun to my house because people are selfish.
This is not a introduction to zoning but makes people think about it. This is important.
I can recommend City Beautiful by Dave Amos or Not Just Bikes by Jason
But this house is a perfect example for the missing middle townhouse or Duplex that can fit into a neighborhood despite contradicting standard design elements.
Man idk about that philosophy. It seems like here in Utah they only build townhouses now. No small single family homes. Probably influenced by city planners who think density will magically make housing cheaper when it almost never does.
Honestly It seems to make it more expensive because more people can live and move here creating a higher demand and driving the locals who've lived here their whole lives out of their homes.
I love their front gate!!!
Interesting build. Would be good for rain harvesting because of surface area of roof and because California is drought area That is if rain harvesting is allowed in LA. Love the filtered light and landscaping.
Cork is renewable but it also comes from an endangered tree
So what is the attitude towards sites that he wants change? If everyone builds in to the unbuildable side yards do the buildings abutt each other? Is he talking about courtyard houses with walls with increased fire ratings or sprinklers to prevent fire spread?
The risk of fire spreading in urban areas (i am not talking wildfires) is pretty low today. So we can reconsider to use some space between buildings.
Having 5 or 10 m side or front yards have been very common in many parts of the nation.
@@paxundpeace9970 Agreed - However those buildings that are close together do it because they increase the fire ratings of the walls between buildings. The reason the risk of fire spread is low is because that party walls when they are used have an increased rating that allows for the safety of life first and then property.
The interior is interesting but the lot does not look particularly appealing. It really does look like a too-big building was jammed onto a too-small lot; like it’s going to tip over and swallow the neighbours. I’d think you could get the same density (but more openness on the lot) by building taller, but keeping the tall bits at the back (stepped back from the street) so that the facade remains lower and doesn’t look overwhelming.
Also, while I don’t know LA, in most areas these two units could never be sold separately because of the way the two units interlock at their kitchen stairways (each house would transgress over the other’s lot line). So you’d have to be able to afford both houses and sure, you could rent one out, but even so, this is only a housing solution for those with a big bank account-someone who can afford to buy a house plus a rental property at the same time. I don’t think rich people are the ones experiencing a housing crisis.
What an interesting commentary from the homeowner/builder (Mr Daly).
Interesting! So nice to hear about his creative process! ❤️
Seems like the nicer areas of Venice Beach or Santa Monica. The design is commendable but I lean more towards traditional. I still remember one of the first houses I saw, a small Craftsman home, when I was about 2 or 3 years old and my parent's car ran out of gas at night. I guess that left a lasting impression forever. It's my preferred style of housing, and Santa Monica is full of them. Beachfront property in Seal Beach also has very small, traditional homes that are impeccable.
Glad that eyesore isn't in my neighborhood. He worries about light for his building, and not blocking the light to neighbors.
What a lovely design - so elegant yet practical. Love the libary. I would hate living in LA because of the density and the air pollution, but this is a great design.
Those trees are beautiful. 😌🌎💫
I wish I could put 1,000 thumbs up on your comment. The trees and plants were (in my opinion) the only positive thing about the exterior of the property.
Great house.
Would have loved to see the ground bathroom and back room and it's relation with the garage. Also would have loved to see the two? first floor bathrooms.
What does it matter if the roof goes up and down? To be seen from above? Architects love that. It creates space loss inside, and to me it becomes just a city apartement. How do neigbours react?
“Kind of crowded? Santa Monica is a terminal traffic jam.
Masterly! Loved your videos! And this construction, truly inspirational! I'm glad you keep bringing us true pieces of art for our delight! Thank you Kirsten Dirksen and Team for your productions! Much success!
So exciting and inspiring!
Nice to see some apartment buildings in the back of some shots.
I am curious about what zoning says about the setbacks when interlocking 2 buildings
I see it rather as one building, on one lot with two units.
Look at the timestamp 1:30 with the top shot? These lots are quite big for an urban area.
😔Cannot answer your question, but LA does have some of the toughest 🛠️ construction requirements.
😉Except Wall Street, big greedy developers & crooked politicians are aggressively looking for ways to change current zoning & exploit all residential neighborhoods for max profit without improving our already over taxed infrastructure (roads, sewer, water, power, community services, etc.).
👹These questionable entities give little consideration for the comfort of others or protecting the aesthetics of a neighborhood. Worse, they usually only give lip service toward 💲affordable housing. The desperate need of low & middle income housing is repeatedly overlooked for high dollar💸 Airbnb's & other exclusive rentals.
🤔 We have many suburban pockets throughout the Greater LA area with a SFR on a double lot. Most of these longer lots have long since added ADUs on them for extended family or rentals.
😱Strict zoning won't permit the sale of lots for building small homes 🏡 (anything 1000sq ft + under is often forbidden). City officials love to argue that a small structure will 🤬negatively impact the "character of a community."
😫In the meantime, they have allowed countless avg. single level dwellings (1200-1800sq ft) to be 💥flattened💥 & replaced by massive ugly two-story boxy McMansions (up to 2500sq ft)
&/or multi-unit behemoths (3500sq ft+). No matter how much blight most of these new 🏢monstrosities🏘️ create, local officials🤑 tend to approve real estate transactions with considerably larger tax 💰 potential.
😉While this is a pretty spectacular build, it is a single structure that is split into two units. Two homes with a shared or common wall is typically considered a duplex.
In other parts of California & US, it is more common to fully own a "half plex." Such sales are pretty rare here. It's more standard for a single buyer to own the whole property. The owner may live in one unit and rent the other or lease both units.
💚 Bridget from Cali☘️
(using my pal's YT acct)
@@teresacarle294 Thanks.
@@creolelady182 🤗Sorry for my rant. (The restrictions & corruption drives me mad🤪.) There is no easy answer on setbacks. Front, side & rear yards can vary greatly in both the city & county of LA as well as the incorporated communities here. It also depends on how a property is zoned. 🆘 The LADBS has an online Yard Setback Calculator to help figure it out.
@@teresacarle294 Thank You
0:03 beautiful trees
Very good idea for roof
Very creative! Love the way so much light is brought in yet with so much attention to energy efficiency by using the insulative nature of the opaque greenhouse glazing for both light diffusion as well as insulating; followed by then outside those large windows placing the louvers to keep the western sun from heating up the space by keeping the sun from directly beating down on all that glazing for the whole afternoon. Let's in the light, but shades the house at the same time. Really clever. It would also naturally take less energy to heat and especially cool the homes because they share a common wall as well. Love the central courtyard and used of raised planters and plants to crate privacy in intimacy in the outdoor spaces. I'm not a big fan of modernistic design, but I really love this one!
That guy doesn't realize that the space between houses is required as distance from another in case of fire.
He clearly maximized the use of natural light. clever!
Very cool. It’s cool to see solutions to the housing crisis in our state. I’d love to see more affordable housing, though. Density + less square footage per person is what we really need. These two houses were beautiful but I’m sure they are each worth $2 million. Most people can’t afford that.
Bet my last dollar that what most can afford wasn't a consideration. We've got the same thing going on in my wonderfully-located neighborhood of late1940's two bedroom 800 sq ft homes. Come in and push a perfectly good little house over then build a giant home (worth 4-5X what the razed home was worth) on the tiny lot. The city loves it because of the increase in tax revenue.
Nice house and I like (for once) the landscaping (which is usually an afterthought) but while those plants are low water use none of them are native.
I wonder if the wavy roof could make even more units with very nice lighting possible???
Great story.
Great use of space, love the thought process still having green space 🥳
Thank you for shinning a light on so many living situations.
Building setbacks were implemented in the U.S. to stop a building from catching an adjacent building on fire and to ensure there isn't too much impervious surface coverage, so water doesn't flood into your house or push onto your neighbors property and flood their property. He really hasn't discussed the fire ratings of his buildings, he uses a lot of plastic/petroleum based products (which are flammable), and doesn't discuss in detail where the water goes when it rains. For large commercial buildings, they have huge above ground detention ponds or underground catch basins.
well done!
Wowza- I LOVE this. I wonder how much more it costs to build something so irregular?
How to make construction really expensive per square foot: this one. It's unique and interesting but certainly not a realistic approach to housing available to the masses. And I'm pretty sure they separate the homes to help slow the spread of fire. It's standard fair in most western, urbanized areas. We have a little more concern for the sanctity of life. Anyway, cool effort to be different.
Couldn't agree more. They could have built an architecturally sensitive duplex that would be more affordable. Additionally, as you note, there's a whole host of reasons to have setbacks or even easements - fire safety, utility and emergency access, light and ventilation, sound buffer, added landscape and green space, and a safety buffer between buildings during natural disasters, like earthquakes. I get that zoning and regulations can be inconvenient and certainly many are outdated, but they protect communities.
This is art!!
Would you want those two houses next door to you?
Amazing, very clever. Thank you from Montréal, Canada.
These tiny homes are three times the size of the cute little cabin I've been living in the past three years. Yay poverty, disability and a societal structure that makes it near impossible to overcome.
building duplexes doesn't solve the housing crisis, it just increases the return on investment for the property owner. More dense =/= better housing, in fact, it may only exacerbate the issue. I agree with the /philosophy/ of organic density, but it's SUCH typical LA to present it as a solution to their current problems, especially something as niche and luxurious as this.
at some point we will begin to rent out residential parking space that includes shore power and access to an outdoor bathroom for students and shift workers in highly congested metro areas. Imagine driving from work to a spot in what used to be someones front lawn, plugging the ev car or hybrid into a power socket, folding the back into a bed and relaxing with netflix before having dinner from a bag you got on the way home. Then visiting the bathroom and brushing teeth before bed in the vehicle.
At that point, why even leave the parking space your car was in all day; just never leave the parking lot at work.
You always find people with lovely homes and really good Solutions to housing problems. Especially in California why aren't they changing Zoning Regulations .
that's really nice...I especially like that big book shelf.
Interesting way of using space
I love it but it wouldn't work here. For years in an older home the heat bills were close to $800.00 per month. Then after buying a new house both electric and gas was around $100.00 per month. I will never gripe about the new ones. Tall roofs filled with insulation helps a lot!
Dang.
This man just oozes practicality.
The house is nice, but the location and the lack of yard area really sucks, IMO.
Interesting to see multiwall polycarbonate being used. I think it's an underutilized material.
It would be interesting if they had the side yards but all on one side (e.g. West or North side of all the properties on a block) so that the 10-12 ft could be used as outdoor living space or a garden. A book called "Happy City" looks at the influence of autos in urban design and how to do it better.
Wow 🤩
So how do you insure a house/flat when you are connected back to back ?
wow, you find such cool stuff - always a learning experience - you get an A+ from me :)
Love it, what is the sq ft of each individual house.
nice one
Oh my goodness! Forget the houses look at the trees!!
complex design
Deceptively expensive
My house is not big enough. I'm surrounded by other houses. First World Problem
Thank God we can still surround ourselves here with acres of woodland where a neighbor will never be seen.
Interesting building though.