laguna beach residence

This project consisted of a re-build after the devastating Laguna Coast Wilderness fire of 1993. The owners’ house burnt to the ground 3 weeks after they moved into it. The destroyed house was a 2,000 sf early ’60’s tract house located on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The City’s rules allowed us to rebuild with a maximum 10% increase in floor area, therefore the new house was 2,200 sf. The owners were happy with the original floor plan, so we basically tweaked it by flipping it over, reorienting it to take advantage of the Pacific and Catalina views, and pushing/pulling the exterior walls to provide better use of interior space. Another client goal was to make it as “green” as practical and affordable. The house’s green features include a low voltage photovoltaic electrical system (off the grid, with storage batteries), solar water heater, hydronic heating, tankless water heater, use of recycled/recyclable materials where possible, minimization of construction debris, and high performance glazing. The house was included in a “green building tour” before it was connected to the gas and electrical utilities, and it had hot water and lights due to the solar panels. Naturally, the owners wanted to make the house as fire-resistant as possible, so fire resistive exterior materials were used, roof overhangs were minimized, and the roof sloped to shed embers. I designed a few different exterior looks, and the clients opted for the one with sloped roofs. Personally, I liked the flat roof version more, but the client gets what the client wants. The house was the first rebuild project to be approved by the Design Review Board and one of the first to be occupied.