Jesse Bornstein Architecture specializes in formally rigorous, site-specific custom residential design. We work closely with our clients from design conception through construction using study models and material samples, sketches and computer-based drawings to communicate formal concepts and building systems. Our ongoing interest in experimentation is tempered by our aspiration toward a timeless architecture, as well as by our construction cost/benefit analyses and an abiding respect for our client's budget. Hallmarks of our practice are a refined palette of materials and architectural details, the integration of day lighting and environmental control systems, and spatially interconnected built and natural environments. We apply our skills, knowledge of construction and aesthetic sensibilities toward creating beautiful, lasting, life-affirming environments for each of our clients.

Context/Site/Program: The project is a model of site-specific infill set in a hillside neighborhood. Multi- and single-family buildings of varying scale and character occupy surrounding properties. The new residence shares a 50-by-160-foot parallelogram-shaped lot with an existing front house. An existing 10-foot tall retaining wall runs the width of the property. Cut off from the rest of the property by the retaining wall, the rear third of the lot had lay fallow. A mature Chinese Elm tree stands at the southerly base of the retaining wall. While tailored to the programmatic requirements of the client, namely the architect, his wife and their two young daughters, the project design is primarily a response to specific site conditions.

Dialogue with Existing House: The existing front house was originally a gable-roofed painted wood and stucco box built in the 1950's. An extensive renovation and second-story addition by the architect in 1999 refined the original house while maintaining its traditional form and ubiquitous palette of materials. In contrast, the design of the rear house refers to the California modern architectural tradition of the mid-twentieth century. Parallel histories are set in formal dialogue between the modern rear house and the traditional front house. Reinforcing the dialogue, the rear house studio is nestled into the gable roof of the front house garage.

Privacy and Views: Roof planes step up the sloped site providing city and mountain views from multiple levels. Walls and fenestration subtly shift in reference to the non-orthogonal site to maintain privacy and control views between neighboring structures. The design exploits a long-view corridor along the driveway between the front house and an adjacent apartment building. Views of a neighborhood park, a block away, are captured between apartment buildings to the north and rear.

Existing Retaining Wall and Tree: The house stitches the site together, fully utilizing the previously inaccessible portion of the site and incorporating the existing retaining wall into the split-level system of the house. The house is constructed around the mature Chinese Elm tree. Each level of the house offers different experiences of the tree; the trunk rising from the Entry Courtyard, the ascending branch structure as one climbs through the Stairwell, the canopy of branches over the Studio Balcony, the uppermost leaves dappling sunlight into the Loft.

Multi-Level Connections: Given the tight, sloped site, circulation runs vertically. Open-tread scissor stairs run through the wedge-shaped stairwell volume interconnecting the multiple floor levels of the house. Voids between stair and wall and between alternating stair runs reinforce the volumetric connection between levels. Living and Dining areas and Kitchen share the mid-floor level. A secondary stair wraps around the core of the house connecting the Kitchen and Family/Guest Room. The two-story volume of the Living space is open to the Loft and Master Suite above. The Master Suite is a half-floor above the children's level; close enough for comfort yet separate enough for privacy. The Studio is pulled away from the rest of the house, linked to the stairwell by a glazed bridge.

Connection with Nature: Taking advantage of the temperate Southern California climate, each floor level has at least one direct egress to a balcony or yard. The primary living space extends into the backyard through broad, floor-to ceiling sliding glass door panels. Walls, roof planes, beams, railing and fascia run continuously through glazed openings, connecting interior and exterior. Architectural elements of wood, stone and metal further tie the house to nature and imbue the interiors with a sense of calm.

Internal Formal Dialogue: In response to the crude intersection of finish materials typical of many neighboring buildings, the architect created a rigorous dialogue of walls within the new house. Two contrasting wall systems distinguish service and public zones of the house from private realms; thick, steel-trowel natural plaster-finished walls with punched openings align with the side yards, while thinner walls with corner glazing, engaged posts and vertical wood-siding orient to the front and rear property lines.

Sustainable Features: Helping stem the tide of sprawl, the project activates previously inaccessible fallow urban land. The project preserves energy and material resources by rehabilitating the existing front house and incorporating the existing retaining wall into the design of the new rear house. The deciduous Chinese Elm tree is utilized as a natural solar control year round, shading the south-facing stairwell during summer while letting direct sunlight in through the glazing system to heat the thermal mass wall of the stairwell in winter. Operable windows at each floor level cross-ventilate the stairwell and cool the house with prevailing ocean breezes. Bedrooms open to the stairwell for warm and cool air exchange. Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide much of the electrical power to the house year round and feed the grid during peak summer months.

Photos: Bernard Wolf

Site Conditions: The site, consisting of two 25' wide by 130' deep legal lots, slopes down toward the ocean.

Rear Elevation/Cantilevered Decks: The rear elevation of the houses is composed of terracing decks projecting out towards the ocean. Each deck is cantilevered over the level below it, providing shade from the southwest exposure and protecting the flush frame wood and glass walls and interiors from the sun. Connecting each deck level are steel stairs cantilevered from the exterior angled walls of each house.

Axial Alignment/Exterior Forms: The palm tree has been transplanted, moved front and center to become an obelisk, marking the axial alignment of the site with the courtyard apartment building across the street. The front bay window of each house is distinct; each is a playfully curved sculptural form. These "seashell masks" provide each house with its own identifying sign; its own white, abstract folly imbued with form by light and shadow. These forms, in concert with the central palm tree, play an active role in the theater of the street and the Ocean Park neighborhood

Interiors: The side elevations reflect the dynamics of the interior spaces and provide adjacent neighbors with a play of stepped and faceted geometric forms. The composition of the interiors provided a sense of spaciousness despite the narrow shotgun form of the houses. Private bedrooms are sequestered on the ground floor while the living spaces above open to natural daylight, ocean views and breezes and the outdoor terraced decks.

Natural Lighting: The primary element of the interiors is natural light, which enters through a variety of apertures. Facing the linear garden courtyard, each house has a three-story wall of translucent laminated glass panels set into a wood framework ensuring privacy between the two houses. The interior stair, composed of an open steel structure and rail with wood tread, is silhouetted against the translucent glass wall.

Photos: Bernard Wolf

Site Conditions: The site is a triangular/piece of pie shaped lot, which has a wide curved front tapering to a point at the rear with a moderate slope up from the street.

Abstract Design: Through a series of discussions, the clients' predilection for Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean styles slowly transformed into a greater appreciation of the abstract qualities inherent in all good architecture: light-filled space, dynamic order, refined simplicity and the beauty of natural materials. Rather than follow any particular historical style, it is these timeless qualities we sought to evoke in designing and building this house.

Exterior Forms: The exterior is expressive of both stability and dynamism. From the street the experience of the house is that of a freestanding white pavilion sitting on a green gentle slope inviting one to explore its internal logic. From the back yard one may gain a new sense of the relaxed quality of the house with the shifted-off-square pavilion of the breakfast room and the upstairs deck directly above.

Program: The clients are a young, growing family. Their requirements included separated children's and parents' wings, open space for entertainment, and exhibition space for art.

Interior Flow/Dynamics: Between exposed glue-lam beams, on either side of the space, clerestory windows bring in daylight while a roof overhang keeps out excess sun. The result is a space that is open and filled with light yet cool year round. The central space functions as a circulation spine, gallery, music room and playroom. As you enter the central gallery space, on your right the walls of the living spaces project at varying angles into the central space. A variety of floor-to-ceiling openings into the living spaces create a relaxed yet dynamic flow of movement. Steps down to the living room and change in ceiling height establish a more formal yet intimate mood than that of the central space.

Photos: Bernard Wolf

The design of the Grossman House is inspired by the work of the pioneering California based modern architect Rudolf Schindler. Vertical and horizontal bands of windows wrap around the entry, living spaces and stairwell/ gallery providing natural light, ventilation and series of dynamic views from the house interiors to the exterior landscape.

Photos: Bernard Wolf

The Pier Avenue Townhouses are a multi-unit residential project on a 40' x 130' infill site. Four tri-level townhouses sit on a structural concrete parking deck. The units are separated into a pair of duplexes to create a central courtyard with exterior stairs leading to outdoor decks above. In creating this central open space the middle units as well as the front and back units have exposure to daylight on three sides. In addition, each unit's bedrooms, living room and loft opens out to a private outdoor space. The simple finish materials, white stucco, clear finish wood windows, and metal railing, evoke a California modern tradition dating back to Irving Gill's work of the early 1900's.

Photos: Bernard Wolf

The exterior of the Rubin residence is noteworthy for its dynamic composition, flush framing, metal window shading system, and wood and masonry detailing. The masonry planter boxes that project into the living spaces accentuate the naturally lit interiors of the house.

Photos: Bernard Wolf

Site Conditions: The site is surrounded on both sides and rear by two-story apartment buildings with no architectural value, save their respective flat, gable, and hip roofs. The proposed single-family house introduces the "industrial shed" roof form into the neighborhood typology. These sloped roofs parallel the local hillside zoning code's "theoretical grade", and then turn horizontal to create a series of roof decks. These decks in turn provide broad overhanging eaves along south, east and west exposures.

Orientation to Site/Views: The house is split-level as it follows the sloped site. Floor planes and sloped and flat roofs interface to create dynamic interior spaces where for instance the upper level sitting room looks down through a sloped-ceiling volume to the living spaces a half-level below. A continuous hedge of bamboo along the rear and sides of the property for privacy while expanses of glass along the living/dining/kitchen level provide panoramic city and mountain views toward the front of the property. Additional views are captured along faceted openings along the building's sides.

Water Elements: Water plays an important role in the life of the house. Water flows down a bluestone wall into a coy pond at the entrance to the house. Access to swimming pool and spa along the south side of the house occurs mid-level between the entry and primary living spaces. Roof drainage drops through open scuppers into planter beds built into the dining deck, providing occupants with a celebratory experience during the occasional Southern California rains.

Exterior Finishes: The limited palette of exterior finish materials reinforces the interplay of sloped and flat roofed forms. Architectural sheet metal siding clads the shed forms and fascia while smooth plaster finishes walls under flat roof eaves. Door and window frames and break metal are clear anodized aluminum. A monolithic "weather deck" roofing system covers roofs and decks.

Pool House/Office: Jesse Bornstein Architecture's future studio/office will occupy the front of the building. Facing the street and separated from the dwelling by the parking garage, the studio/office assumes the position of "gatehouse", employing all the elements of the house, shed roof, flat roof with broad eave, large expanses of glass and clerestory et al, on a reduced scale.

Sustainable Features: Passive and active solar systems are integral to the house. Hydronic floor heating, ceiling fans at sloped ceilings, controlled day lighting via deep overhangs, and natural ventilation through operable windows and clerestories and doors eliminate the need for central heating and air conditioning. Solar panels will cover the sloped roofs in a saw tooth pattern.

Photos: Bernard Wolf