How do we design flexibility into a modest, passive solar home?

The home was planned as a guesthouse with additional space for a woodworking, workout, and home-office. Over time the Owner wanted the ability to change the interior configuration and use it fully as a traditional home. To accomplish this we utilized a simple post and beam structure to allow the interior layout to change as desired.

Passive sustainable strategies are implemented throughout to reduce energy usage. These include proper orientation for passive solar and ventilation, increased insulation, and efficient mechanical systems. A solar panel array on the roof provides most of the homes energy needs.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Passive solar design

• Post and beam construction

How can we craft a home reflective of the owners’ indoor routines and outdoor hobbies while being aging-friendly?

The home was designed for animal lovers with a passion for gardening and being outside. A sunny plant room anchors the corner with space outside for potting and pruning. The home is planned as single-level living with accessible bathrooms and aging-friendly design features.

The spaces and materials of the home slip by one another to create paths and connections to the surrounding landscape and gardens. The home is oriented on the property for passive solar design with proper overhangs, increased insulation, and efficient mechanical systems. These features help to reduce the homes energy usage.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Passive solar design

How can a home on a steep canyon hillside feel both modest and expansive at the same time?

The home was designed for animal lovers with a passion for gardening and being outside. A sunny plant room anchors the corner with space outside for potting and pruning. The home is planned as single-level living with accessible bathrooms and aging-friendly design features.

The spaces and materials of the home slip by one another to create paths and connections to the surrounding landscape and gardens. The home is oriented on the property for passive solar design with proper overhangs, increased insulation, and efficient mechanical systems. These features help to reduce the homes energy usage.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Passive solar design

High in the mountains above Malibu at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, Sweetwater Mesa poetically rests at the nexus of the earth, sky, and water. Its undulating landscape is formed by microclimates of diverse vegetation, climate, and topography with expansive views to the Pacific Ocean, Malibu, and Los Angeles. Vulnerable to sun, wind, and fire, the site topography is characterized by rock outcroppings, low-lying brush, slopes and ravines. The 160-acre property is separated into five parcels that absorb their distinct surroundings marked by boundaries of Ocean, Meadow, Cliff, and Mountain zones.

The project included site masterplanning and the conceptual design for five single-family residences. The individual homes establish a cohesive relationship between the site and its occupants. The dwellings arise from the land and are conceived as ‘instruments’ for interpreting the landscape that capture and intensify specific site qualities. The site is traversed via footpath that carves sinuously through the terrain uniting scattered natural features and the dwellings.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Andrew Scott and John Fernandez | Pamela Burton & Co. Landscape