Shungyo-An Residence

The owners wanted to immerse their home in the natural beauty of the site—leaving it visually open to the environment and physically connected to the changing seasons. Awareness of the seasonal cycle is an underlying theme which influenced the precise siting of the house and geometry of the structure. The design reflects a Japanese aesthetic of beauty in a fluid, open space linked to the natural site.

The house sits 200 feet downhill from the street, providing privacy for the owners while improving views of a nearby canyon; its linear orientation follows the hillside terrain. A fold in the geometry occurs due east, forming an east/west centerline that serves as the functional and symbolic datum of the home—separating public and private areas and providing a stationary element to emphasize seasonal changes. The central room of the house frames the seasonal changes in the sky. It is breathtaking when the sun or moon rises at due east, directly above the point defined by the pool wall.

The house features a range of materials from steel to stone to aluminum. Precise detailing in the design allows full expression of these materials and construction techniques by exposing and layering the contrasting systems.

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