Shed roofs follow the downhill slope with sharp angles contrasting the natural hillsides of this residence in Malibu, CA. The steep Santa Monica Mountains are both the formal inspiration and immediate context for this new home. After the original structures were lost to the 2018 Woolsey Fire, we designed a new formal massing that reused the old concrete foundations – the only parts usable after the fire. The resulting structure, though fully transformed, avoided costly and environmentally intensive concrete foundations. This effort saved costs and decreased the carbon footprint of this fire rebuild and the resulting residential architecture is at home amongst the hills.

There are four structures on the property: the primary residence with four bedrooms, kitchen, dining and living spaces; the garage and guest suite; the pool house; and the sauna. The primary residence and guest suite frame a courtyard which opens toward fruit trees and a vegetable garden. The contemporary, minimalist exteriors are an abstraction of the mountains that surround the property.

Landscaping consists of a series of trails and steps traversing the hillsides, making their way through replanted drought-tolerant native species and the old vineyard. The pool area has been expanded to include a bocce court, shade pergola, fire pit and rinse-off shower. The site is very much a wildlife area so a custom fencing pattern was designed to help keep rattlesnakes out of the courtyard and pool area.

Custom laser-cut aluminum shade screens help protect against the strong Southern California sun. The screens and their pattern are a unifying motif throughout the project in both horizontal and vertical screening orientations. The shade pattern shifts with the time of day; during the nighttime, the screens above the main patio have backlighting to make the pattern visible.

To address the imminent cyclical threats of wildfires and mudslides, some sloped landscape areas are protected by a fire sprinkler system so that plantings survive fires and continue to stabilize the hillsides during the rainy season. The exterior sprinkler system is also distributed across the building roofs. Being remote necessitates a measure of independence, and the house is equipped with a photovoltaic energy storage system in the case of power failure.