This house is build in the region between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains. The project consists of two twin houses sited adjacent to each other on a steep slope above a seasonal watershed. This project is exploring a blend between two classic California building types: the courtyard house and the hillside house.

This typological hybrid “corrected” certain shortcomings in the hillside prototype. The central courtyard creates a large protected outdoor living space secluded from direct engagement with adjacent properties. The main courtyard and adjacent courtyard/recesses pierce the entire space of the house creating light shafts to rooms typically “buried” in the hillside and also expanding direct access to grounded exterior spaces.

The exterior surfaces are rough cut, transitioning to smooth finishes on the interior surfaces. The windows and the interiors of the courtyards are smooth, white, light reflective surfaces to further transmit light deeper into the house.

[via contemporist]