steelhouse Los Angeles CA 90046
agps architecture 2010
"Steelhouse" was orignally conceived by Swiss-American
agps architecture, in connection with an exhibition of the work of the Eames Studio, as a "Case Study" home for the 21st century. Sustainability and flexible living patterns are the operative design concepts behind the resulting newly completed home.
Construction materials are exposed and expressed without compromise, their placement guided by geometric discipline and thermal function. Recycled fly-ash concrete makes up the walls of the lower level, which is earth-sheltered for natural insulation. Aluminum windows and doors around the entire perimeter admit abundant daylight to minimize the demand for electric lighting. Dual-glazed for insulation and operable for ventilation, glass is protected from the heat of the sun by overhanging solar collectors and roll down shade screens on a cantilevered steel frame.
The rigorous structure yields a multiplicity of functional options and architectural amenities. While conventional room arrangements are available (3 bedrooms 3.5 baths), the plan is configured to encourage combining interior volumes in an array of creative alternatives for sleeping, entertaining, studio, office and gallery uses. With a contiguous flat private yard at the rear and a room-sized deck off the living room, the house is wide open on three sides to canyon, mountain, city and ocean views.
This home typifies the dynamic and responsive architecture of Sarah Graham and Marc Angelil, who practice and teach internationally and have been recognized with numerous awards for their widely published commercial, institutional and residential structures. The house is set in a water-wise landscape and is designed to heat and cool itself without fossil fuels by passive means, and to generate its own hot water and electrical power using thermal and photovoltaic solar collectors, a sustainable and elegant machine for living.
Design Features
- Cement board cladding roof and wall rain screen with air cavity, no exterior paint
- Roof sun screen
- Solar water panels
- 4kw photovoltaic array
- Sun shade
- Operable shade screen
- Operable clerestory Windows
- Recycled steel structure
- Fire sprinklers
- Low V.O.C. cabinetry
- Low V.O.C. interior paint
- Organic fiber carpet
- Low voltage lighting
- Energy star appliances
- Low water use plumbing fixtures
- Evaporative cooling mister
- Low-E double-glazed Windows
- Native & low water use landscaping
- Radiant floor heating & cooling thermal mass, fly ash concrete
Developer's Property Statistics
| Garage Level: | 324 SF |
| Level 01: | 1,760 SF |
| Level 02: | 1,675 SF |
| Enclosed Area: | 3,759 SF |
| Deck: | 220 SF |
| Stairs/Landing: | 248 SF |
| Lot Area: | 11,115 SF |
| Building Footprint: | 1,935 SF |
| Lot Coverage: | 17.4% |
Additional Property Details and Sale Information