ARCHITECT | DESIGN | BUILD 2012
WINTER
B R YA N W I N T E R S
Bryan Winters' Baba_Haus juxtaposes typical large-scale beach cities projects. His work on this 1952 Redondo
Beach bungalow was completed on a tight budget. He was determined to create something unique, however, by
expanding the home from 800 square feet to 1200, "The real challenge was that it was small in retrospect," says
Winters. Because of this, he paid extra attention to finite details and was "anal about every little thing."
Honoring the notion that less is more, Winters recalls that that project was "a real experiment in space,
coordination, and an understanding of what the client wanted." To maximize space, Winters used square windows.
To save money, he broke his own rules. "We saved [significantly] on the kitchen by going to Ikea, which is something
I don't usually do, and used recycled materials, such as skylights from Craigslist." In the end, the limited budget
allowed for more creativity. The client, a Swiss native, appreciates that the home's transformation allows her to live
a simple but modern lifestyle.
What is your favorite architectural icon in the world?
Bryan Winters: VILLA SAVOYE, in Poissy, France, by Le Corbusier…the villa is a renowned example of a modern
architecture international style.
What architectural figure, living or historical, has made the biggest impact on your career?
Bryan Winters: Working for Thom Mayne, the 2005 Pritzker Prize winner, founder of Morphosis Architects and a
founding father of SCI-Arc, provided me the depth and knowledge to become a well-rounded professional.
If you could design your dream home, what style would it be and where would you build it?
Bryan Winters: The structure would implement five concepts in design philosophy: an inside/outside relationship of
material and space; a there-but-not-there emphasis of transparent and translucent materials; a not-at-90-degree
parallelism of site to building context; a principle of offsetting materials to create a scope of depth; and a context of
B R YA N W I N T E R S
mass to the overall concept and scope. By implementing these… and keeping true to our philosophy, we can guarantee
a provocative design and functional structure.
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SOUTHBAYDIGS.COM | 12.14.2012