The Meyerhofer Residence incorporates the spirit of the original house while enhancing its finish and function. A new steel post and beam system extends throughout, maintaining the liberation of the original open plan. The new house conceives of the kitchen as the interior hearth and pivot point for all activity. The new kitchen is a hinge between a more formal side with living room and dining room and a more casual side with pool and family room. The kitchen is further defined as a place of congregation, whether during family gatherings, children’s homework, or watching kids in the pool.

Materially, the redwood siding wraps from exterior to interior and softens the glass and steel structure. Providing one continuous plane for the open floor plan, the dark slate floor of the main level extends from interior to exterior with no visual interruption to the outside.

The new house utilizes careful site orientation with large overhangs to the South, large openings to the North, and minimal windows to the East and West. With the house engaging the topography with new concrete building walls / retaining walls, the house is largely surrounded by temperature constants, contributing to the even regulation of internal temperature. Further, the new structure also incorporates a new solar array. With minimal visual interruption to the flat roof, a seven kilowatt system was installed with just enough pitch to shed water. Along with passive heating for the pool under the exterior slate, the solar panels make the house even more sensitive to its site.   

Every effort was taken to integrate the home with its natural surroundings while maintaining the spirit of the original home the clients fell in love with. The end result is a composite of concrete, steel, glass, stone and wood that elegantly asserts itself while remaining sensitive to its site and to the view corridors of its neighbors and the landscape of the nearby San Gabriel Mountains.