Wonderland Park Residence / Assembledge+

Text description provided by the architects. The Wonderland Park Residence is located in the hills of Laurel Canyon, within an enclave of mid-century residences from which it draws its inspiration. Originally a farmhouse built in 1956, the project entailed a second floor addition and extensive remodel. The narrow thirty-foot ceiling mediates between the original pitched roof and the volume of the new addition as it rises to the second floor. This lends light and geometric clarity to the spaces, further enhanced by the western red cedar cladding that runs continuously from the family room ceiling up through the skylight and around the second floor exterior walls.

The roof form, oriented south to the solar panels, evokes the concept of a tree house. As this upper volume floats through the tall skylight window, a sense of freedom and fluidity increases within the new open floor plan below. The kitchen is the heart of the residence, physically linking the social and private areas and providing horizontal views of the landscape and vertically through the skylight.

Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors are positioned at opposite corners of the scheme so that a diagonal axis is created from the front yard that runs through the interior spaces and exits to the backyard and pool. The comparative transparency continues upstairs where the master bedroom and bathroom have views of the woods surrounding the Los Angeles Valley.

The home uses sustainable technologies including sustainably harvested red cedar cladding, a solar PV system, a gray water system for landscape irrigation, native and drought-tolerant landscaping, Caesarstone tables, formaldehyde-free MDF kitchen and bathroom cabinets.