Hover House 2 by Glen Irani Architects
Glen Irani Architects have sent us the second of their Hover House series in Venice, California.
“Hovering” a large volume above the landscape eliminates the typical discontinuity between the front and rear garden areas and situates a built outdoor environment in the midst of a measurably larger feeling garden space. The blanketing roof is shaped to conduct softly gradient, reflected clerestory light while seemingly floating gently and protectively over the interior spaces.
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Description from Glen Irani Architects:
The second of the Hover House Series aims to resolve the isolation of front yards from rear yards on small urban lots by the seemingly universal practice of building across the entire frontage of the lot. By massing the first level along the side lot line rather than the front lot line, essentially dedicating the entire depth of the lot to outdoor space, Hover House 2 successfully changes that rule.
The Hover House concept proposes that resource intensive interior space can be substituted with outdoor equivalents of similar refinement and amenity. But outdoor living is not always what it’s cracked up to be, even in the temperate climate of Los Angeles. Comfort and protection is key to outdoor survival. By “hovering” a large volume above a refined outdoor living area, protection from the elements is granted while supporting continuity between the front and rear garden areas.
Taking advantage of the lots depth allows the 4000 SF, 4 Bedroom interior program to fit comfortably on two levels rather than following the model of surrounding taller and more resource intensive homes. Due to the lower height and resulting privacy issues, the roof shape was devised as a “shrouded clerestory”, gently folding down over the clerestory space to conduct more subdued reflected sunlight from the horizontal space between the roof and exterior wall while floating gently over the interior spaces.
Sustainability remains at the forefront of the architect’s consciousness as it has for over two decades. PVC cool roof technology, high efficiency mechanical systems, window shading, sustainable wood finish and structural products and minimization of long term refinishing and maintenance are just several measures this project employs to meet the architect’s high sustainability standards. Ultimately, if man is to realize a sustainable future, the reduction of building resource usage that arises from interior program reduction could prove the best tactic and that could happen if more clients adopt outdoor living areas as 1:1 replacements for current indoor program standards.
Visit the Glen Irani Architects website – here.
Photography by Derek Rath
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Rudy on 10 Sep 2010 at 4:37 am #
Very Nice! I am surprised by the view from the window in pic 10. That looks more like the English country side than Venice, California.
stephen on 10 Sep 2010 at 4:25 pm #
rudy
actually this is in Cheviot Hills. Glen’s work is amazing as he is amazing! A very talented man with arguably more houses in Venice’s canals than any other architect. What impresses me most about his work is how amazingly humble he is for being such a talented designer! Cheers Glen! You are quietly leading the revolution!
Miss Honey on 11 Sep 2010 at 7:49 am #
nice architecture! i love the dinning room lighting.
aj smith on 13 Sep 2010 at 1:23 pm #
Not too impressed. Every picture tells of some different story. The owners seems to have taken over the project rather than the architets vison.
TW on 14 Sep 2010 at 4:14 am #
As much as I like what the architect says about sustainability, I don’t buy it. The house is still too big and uses up too much resources in empty spaces and double height voids.
But I do disagree with aj smith – it is a joy to see a house where the architects design vision for the structure has extended into the interior detailing. So rare these days.
Glen Irani on 17 Sep 2010 at 9:43 pm #
Thanks for the feedback- compliments and otherwise- everyone. TW’s commented on the sustainability. I’m with AJ actually. I would never call anything I do sustainable. Architecture in the western world, at least all forms of conventional architecture and most forms of experimental architecture, including those touted as being “sustainable” are, from a resource usage standpoint, totally unsustainable. What I think the field of architecture is trying to achieve, albeit too slowly IMO, is less unsustainability. In doing so, we are all seeing many small steps we can take to emeliorate a pretty impossible situation (if what many scientists predict is true – and I do tend to believe them.) In this and several of our latest projects the solution of swapping interior spaces with exterior spaces appears to be the best way to reduce resource usage. The problem we are encoutering is that clients still wont make the leap to exterior amenities in lieu on interior equivalencies. But I think that step lies in the future as clients like these spread the message – especially to our future clients.
Aj Smith’s judgement about the client’s intervention in the design is correct. As much as we try to lead the client toward an interior program that really connects to our work, often it doesn’t end up going that way. This project is very telling about how an interior designer merely superimposes his vision without really “getting” what the building is about. It’s tough to get that balance with any interior designer it appears.