Build a massive house made of concrete in the middle of a grove of 130 beautiful protected old oak trees and you have an ugly disaster in your hands.
This scenario sounds likely but it was elegantly avoided in the Oak Pass Main House that Walker Workshop designed for a private client in Beverly Hills, California.
The house sits on a 3.5-acre site at the rim of a canyon, which is why the fantastic views were the main consideration of the house plan.
The ornate oak trees provide a contrast for the hard edges of the low-lying house – a delicate balance not easily achieved.
The use of glass allows for views and vistas over and through the house and makes the mass of the house seem much smaller than it is.
Structural concrete is the main building material as it lets large spans of space to flow into each other without columns or supports.
All of this leads to a calm harmony between the site and the elegant minimalist house.
The 8,000 square-foot (743 sq.m.) single-family residence includes four bedrooms on the lower level beneath the green grassy roof, two kitchens, a dining room, a living room, an office, a 900-bottle wine room, an exercise room, a media room, four bathrooms and a powder room, a foyer and an art gallery courtyard plus a garage.
A 75-foot lap pool with infinity edges on three of four sides, bisects the house.
This large residence is on the same property with the much written-about Oak Pass Guest House that Walker Workshop completed in 2013. – Tuija Seipell.
