Architecture Wednesday: Forest Knoll Drive

I do like this one but, to be honest, the architects and the people writing about the house have lost their damn minds.

Forest? Maybe a few centuries ago; now? Not so much. Knoll? That doesn’t look like a small grassy hill. And they’re calling it a “Modern American Farmhouse” …on a mountainside overlooking downtown Los Angeles from Beverly Hills. And then, right after calling it a farmhouse, they say it was “inspired” by Louis Kahn’s redesign of the Kimbrell Art Museum.

Lost their damn minds. But still, the house, all 11,000 square feet, six bedrooms and nine bathrooms of it, is stunning. The home takes the shape of three parallel gabled volumes with stairs between each of them; and each volume houses different essential spaces and all three open up to an outdoor patio and pool area overlooking LA.

The double-height middle volume, which houses an expansive living and dining rooms, was conceived as a singular great room. The pitch of its ceiling guides the eye toward the expansive windows at the rear of the house, the pool and the view beyond.

The entry to the home is located at the opposite end of this volume, and marked by olive trees flanking the travertine pathway that leads from a cobblestone motor court. Have I always wanted a motor court, or have I just decided I want one?

The other two volumes of the home are divided into two stories, with white oak accented bedrooms and marble clad bathrooms on the upper story, giving these rooms a sense of privacy and quiet while allowing the lower story to enjoy unmitigated views. A subtle nod to the vernacular barn—wait … it’s a barn, too?—the white oak paneled walls guide the eye outward.

It’s simple, yet extravagant; a farmhouse, but a barn; an art museum, but  home. Whatever it is, it’s sleek and clan and gorgeous.

And on the market for $28,500,00.

Design Boom

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