Born in Britain, architect Richard Holme [1922-2010] emigrated to L.A. in 1956—no doubt drawn inexorably like so many of his fellow countrymen—to warm weather, palm trees and opportunity. Trained in Britain (he was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects) Holme was, early in his career

Born in Britain, architect Richard Holme [1922-2010] emigrated to L.A. in 1956—no doubt drawn inexorably like so many of his fellow countrymen—to warm weather, palm trees and opportunity. Trained in Britain (he was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects) Holme was, early in his career

It’s easy to forget now, but San Francisco’s historic South Park neighborhood was—post World War II—home to many small-scale industrial businesses, especially printing companies. Ironically, in the early 90s, it would become a hub of the nascent Digital Revolution, the epoch-changing movement withou

Hovering above its site in Santa Monica, Pierre Koenig’s 1994 Schwartz House was the architect’s last built commission—after decades as an influential teacher and mentor—in a career that had begun with a jolt with his Case Study House #22, AKA The Stahl House, that tour-de-force in steel and glass c

Welcome to Casa Mallorca, the latest project of Mark Alexander and Rob Diaz of the eminent L.A.-based design/build firm Studio Rob Diaz in Studio City. Like the lovely but popular Mediterranean island paradise it evokes, Casa Mallorca is a luminous, luxuriously simple home with impeccable details—ju

Rebuilt over the course of four years by a father (engineer) and son (carpenter) team, this floating Modernist gem—dubbed the Thomas Jefferson—berthed in Santa Barbara Harbor Marina is one of just four houseboats permitted to remain in the marina after municipal codes were changed. While the marina

Set in a 6.5-acre gated community overlooking the Virginia Country Club golf course, this c.1969 Modernist ranch exemplifies the booming economy and optimistic suburban style of mid-century Long Beach, where, adjacent to Los Angeles, the intertwined defense and aerospace industries, along with oil a

The year was 1949—the U.S. was well on its way to economic recovery after WWII, but there was still a chronic housing shortage. The now-famous Case Study House program began in response to the need for economical and efficient building solutions in the LA area, but there were other innovative effort

Jesse Rudolph and Joelle Kutner of the home design and development studio Ome Dezin recently brought this 1970s classic Brentwood home into the 21st Century by transforming its good (but tired), original bones into an exceptionally calm and serene haven. Set on a generous lot high above the Valley,

For more than two decades, the San Francisco firm Aidlin Darling Design has been producing extraordinary buildings, crafted with an intuitive, deeply responsive aesthetic. Completed In 2005, this equally extraordinary compound of structures—placed around courtyards and reflecting pools—is a sanctuar

Completed this year and fresh to the market is the C House by Andrew Liang and his firm LAB+Architects—a new and sophisticated architectural statement in a city that is full of them. Immaculately crafted and visually imposing above the street, it offers a fresh look at the concept of the Passive Hou

Perched at the top of Beachwood Canyon with views of Lake Hollywood and (on a clear day) to Catalina Island, the c.1924 Norman Revival castle built by real estate developer and art director Milton Wolf is on the market for the first time in a decade. Occupying a four acre lot, the 8-bed, 5.5-bath, w

Originally designed by the architecture firm of Matlin and Dvoretsky—a pair of USC School of Architecture graduates whose work neatly fits in somewhere between L.A. Brutalism and Post Modernism—this 5-bed, 4-bath, 2-half bath property has been skillfully brought into the early 21st century by the cu

There’s the DIY of assembling that Ikea bookcase, and then there’s the DIY of building an entire house. In both cases, it helps if you are an architect with an enthusiastic partner, both possessed of resourcefulness and skill, like Joe and Marie Michell, who built this of-the-moment Post and Beam in

A recently-completed collaboration between architect/developer David Maman and interior designer Leslie Close of Close Design, this home on Brentwood’s Arbutus Drive represents the best in “quiet luxury”—a term that’s overused but still evocative. Absolutely up to the moment in amenities, the proper

With a career spanning decades from the 1930s to the 1970s, Robert Byrd built some of L.A.’s most influential homes, working in a very characteristic style that combined a farmhouse aesthetic, heavily timbered and woodsy, with carpenter interior details and extravagant brickwork. Unlike the classic

There’s a long tradition of Modernist extravagance in Palm Springs, dating back to the 1950s, of architectural minimalism overlaid with the inescapable influence of Hollywood Regency. In 2012, Sean Lockyer, AIA of Studio AR&D Architects created this extraordinary residence, one of his first desert p

If you’re looking for a 3-bed, 2.5-bath house with flexible multi-level spaces, beautiful details set in a sophisticated design language that reaches back to the glory days of Modernism in Los Angeles, look no further than this exceptional property from Corsini Stark Architects. Known as the Callow

Known for his sleekly Modernist style (inflected with a dash of Italian Rationalism from the 1930s) John Maniscalco has become one of the Bay Area’s most in-demand architects. His eponymous firm has created beautifully conceived and detailed residences from the Peninsula to Marin County, the Wine Co

In the Westside’s Mar Vista neighborhood, the Mexico City based architect Pablo Pérez Palacios of Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados has designed a serene, yet visually challenging, new home unlike anything seen in Los Angeles. Finished in concrete and paying homage to great minimalists like Luis