Hillside Banter

By Pari Syal

Photography:Steve King; Courtesy XTEN Architecture

The lure of a home in the lap of nature, with lush surrounds and the birds and bees for company is an aspiration that some merely dream about, whilst others opportunely enjoy...

We have seen quite a few homes built on steep hillsides, opening out to the elements, freeing the spirit and breathing in sheer beauty. Yet, every other such home brings with it something new to the drawing board.

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Award-winning Xten Architecture firm based in Los Angeles, California emphasises on strategic planning, open spatial configurations, refined material detailing and the highest level of craftsmanship, distilling the parameters of site, structure, project brief and resources into strong sculptural forms in tandem with the scale of the landscape. Their Nakahouse, an abstract remodel of a 1960's hillside home located on a west facing ridge in Hollywood Hills, just below the Hollywood sign is one such example.

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With a breathtaking view of the Beechwood Canyon to the west and south, a protected natural ravine to the east and a view of Griffith Park Observatory in the distance; with several neighbouring dwellings visible, yet far away, the home appears as if enjoying  some precious private moments amidst the milieu.

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While the existing structure did have its fair share of interconnected spaces, the architectural vocabulary has been sharpened in the refurbished version by opening up the home to its surroundings. Maintaining the foundation and the existing building footprint – albeit mainly due to geotechnical, zoning and budget constraints - the interiors are totally reconfigured with terrace spaces added on to the kitchen/ dining area cum living room and the bedrooms. The addition of a steel staircase leading up to a rooftop sundeck further augments the metaphor of free spirit.

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With sheer sliding glass panels (designed to disappear into the adjacent walls) lining these extensions from floor-to-ceiling, the house opens up, into a dialogue with its surrounds, at will. Instead of lying hidden amidst the lushness around, it stands boldly in the open, celebrating its abstract form with a distinct black and white demarcation that at times, lends the feel of being there now; now gone.

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While the exterior is perceived as a specific finite and irregular object in the landscape the opposite occurs inside the building.  The simplicity of its straight lines and its all-white palette rendered in white surfaces of various materials and finishes; lacquered cabinetry, epoxy resin floors and decks and painted metal, blend the rooms together, extending ones sense of space and creating a heightened, abstract atmosphere from which to experience the varied forms of the hillside landscape. In direct contrast, the exterior walls are finished in a smooth black Meoded Venetian plaster system, designed to render the building as a singular sculptural object set within the lush natural setting.

The contrast between the interior and exterior of the house is thus intentional and total.

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