Arshia Mahmoodi · CLIENT: Arshia Architects
RO54 is a single-family house built on a hillside site in Los Angeles. The house uses a split-level layout with staggered floor plates arranged around a central void. Central bridging stairs bring sunlight and visual connection to the deepest level, which reduces the physical and psychological distance between rooms. The outer shell was CNC milled from a digital design and follows streamlined automotive forms. A 16 foot cantilever on the second floor forms an entrance canopy. Open floor plans allow furniture to be rearranged.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Automotive inspired intelligible shell, CNC milled from digital design.
Split level architecture with central bridging stairs to allow sunlight and visual connection to the deepest level.
Dynamic 16 ft cantilever of the second floor creating an entrance canopy and shaded prelude.
Fluidity in circulation and open floor plans that allow for rearrangement of furniture and interior decoration.
Correlation of exterior form and interior hulk.
Museum-quality basement grand room. - Dimensions & Packaging
- 17246mm x 19735mm x 7315mm
- Tags
- split-level configuration, sensory performance, streamline automotive aesthetics, dynamic cantilever, fluidity circulation G exterior & interior correlation
- Production Technology
- Automotive inspired intelligible shell, CNC milled from digital design.
Split level architecture with central bridging stairs to allow sunlight and visual connection to the deepest level.
Dynamic 16 ft cantilever of the second floor creating an entrance canopy and shaded prelude.
Fluidity in circulation and open floor plans that allow for rearrangement of furniture and interior decoration.
Correlation of exterior form and interior hulk.
Museum-quality basement grand room. - Design Challenge
- How can we minimize the physical and psychological distances between different chambers in a residential assemblage? Most homes are constructed with rooms arranged in either horizontal or vertical layouts, which often lead to partitioning and separation due to privacy or functional requirements. Walls, doors, and other barriers typically divide these spaces.
- Project Duration
- 07/2017-06/2022
1254 Roberto Ln, Bel Air, CA 90077, USA - Operation Flow
- The project itself provided for an inclusive engagement with its surrounding space by means of large open spaces and utilization of the ideals of transparency for honest integration into its surrounding community. There is little to hide and what belongs to the house belongs to the neighborhood and conversely, what belongs to the neighborhood is brought into the house. The architecture in turn demands a change of attitude from its occupants towards the community, to be open and to be known.
- Research
- Our aim for tackling this stoic problem was to reduce the time (Δt) required to access other spaces in the program, physically or psychologically. We looked at the problem on a horizontal plane (xy axis), where we aimed to dissolve all unnecessary divisions. This meant direct visual connection from one space to most other spaces in the house, which shortened the time of accessing information in other parts of the house, therefore reducing its psychological distances.
- Inspiration
- The design vocabulary was informed by streamline automotive aesthetics, proposing every technology in the house to have exponent performance discreetly, allowing the architectural space to deliver a sensory performance.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Yuheng Huang, Exterior View, 2022.
Image #2: Photographer Renee Parkhurst, Living Room, 2022.
Image #3: Photographer Paul Vu, Library, 2022.
Image #4: Photographer Paul Vu, Kitchen, 2022.
Image #5: Photographer Renee Parkhurst, Exterior View, 2022. - Patents
- Copyrights belong to Arshia Architects;
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