DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
Issue link: https://www.southbaydiggs.com/i/1490928
44 DIGS.NET | 1.27.23 A R C H I T E C T U R E + D E S I G N P R O F I L E | K W O N G V O N G L I N O W that they might act more clearly as spatial dividers while still maintaining an open plan," Von Glinow notes. In between each of the two sets of trusses, the architects also installed skylights to reinforce the idea of different spaces by creating different light atmospheres. The double-height courtyard atrium, with a large picture window and curv- ing wall, is another of the home's defining features. Together, the trusses and atrium are "two of our favorite aspects of the home," Von Glinow concedes. Balancing the relationship between privacy and exposure is another ingenious stroke of the design. The second-floor railing that lines the interior courtyard is a good interior example of how this idea plays out. "Stand- ing on the second floor, the closest anyone can come to the western alleyway facade is to lean against the railing. It moves from directly against the facade at the two ends of the home to 6-feet from the facade at the center of the home," Von Glinow explains. "This railing acts as a means of privacy from street level. Occupants are pushed back from being directly visible from sidewalk and alleyway views. However, directly across the alley are the porches and egress stairs of several apartment buildings." The railing internalizes and mirrors a similar 'deck'— though interior—experience. When neigh- bors are on their outdoor deck, they can see into Ardmore House and, rather than the 'front porch' neighborly wave, the residents have an internal-to-external connection that is special and more unique." While the home's two-tone wood-cladded exterior (its materials chosen to "emphasize the sectional flip and lend visual rhythm to the monolithic building," notes Von Glinow) makes a bold statement, the interior is clean, quiet, and disciplined in color and materials alike, from white walls to white oak wood floors, trusses, and furnishings. Ribbon windows running the length of the interior courtyard, meanwhile, accentuate two core elements of the project: ample natural light and views that capture the full- ness of the neighborhood: its century-old trees, streetlamps, and the back balconies and fire-escapes of nearby buildings. In pushing the built envelope of this project, Kwong Von Glinow did more than flip its domestic program. They flipped the script. kwongvonglinow.com "was forming our distinct interests and values in space." Ardmore House was an opportu- nity to communicate those ideas and values. "We placed spatial emphasis on creating a contemporary way of living that values light and air and connection with the surrounding environment while re-thinking the traditional single-family home," Von Glinow says of the project. To work within the surrounding neighborhood—a mix of single-family, wood- frame pitch-roofed homes and brick three- flats—the architects used a pitched roof form as a placeholder from the beginning of the design process. "In the end, it stuck," Von Glinow explains. "It represents the most primitive form of the home and structures a new interior spatial experience with the trusses lofting the pitched ceiling." The trusses are one of the key elements of the design, fortifying the frame and desig- nating five areas set around the curve of the balustrade: the kitchen, the island, the dining room, the powder room, and the living room. "We were really excited about the idea of trusses and saw the opportunity to clad them as solid monolithic surfaces so