The Openhouse was designed by XTEN Architecture.
It is embedded into a narrow and sharply sloping lot in
the Hollywood Hills. The house looks both integrated
into the landscape and open to the city below. Retaining
walls are configured to extend the first level living area
into the landscape and to create garden terraces on
the second level. The front, side and rear facades of
the house slide away, opening the interiors to gardens,
views and the hillside landscape.
Glass, in various renditions, is the primary wall enclosure
material. There are forty-four sliding glass panels designed
to disappear into hidden pockets and allow for uninterrupted
views and access to exterior terraces and gardens. There are
also fixed glass walls, mirror glass walls, and light gray mirror
glass panels which lend lightness to the interior spaces.
The glass walls are visually counter weighted by sculptural,
solid elements in the house rendered in stone, dark stained
oak and plaster. The use of quartz flooring throughout the house,
decks and terraces continues the indoor-outdoor materiality.
Building finishes are few in number but applied in a multiplicity
of ways throughout the project, furthering the experience
of continuous open space from interior to exterior. With all
the glass walls completely open the house becomes a platform,
open to hillside gardens and cinematic views over Los Angeles.
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