The program for this canyon residence strives to offer a home which enhances the health and happiness of the family living there. The house can be seen as both an elegant living space and an informal everyday home for the family. The couple and their children enjoy a sophisticated and athletic lifestyle. The floor plan, both inside and out, is centered on common areas which proceed one from another. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms anchor the inside of the house; while pool, deck, an open grill and wood oven anchor the exterior. Canyon views surround the property and support an overall feeling of tranquility rooted in communion with the natural landscape.
The home includes many green features, such as solar paneling and sustainably harvested timber, but beyond this, the project aims for a physical lastingness or purposeful permanence. Sustainability is merely a slogan if the building itself has no long-term future. This residence in its functionality and aesthetics intends to last. But the core of the project always was, and continues to be, the well being of the family.

The Park Residence is designed as a unique modern villa featuring seamless indoor-outdoor connections. The Park Villa is surrounded by mature pine trees which offer scenery, solitude, and privacy on a lot in the hillside area of Beverly Hills. The setting makes it easy to forget that one is only minutes away from the best of what Beverly Hills and Los Angeles has to offer. The Park Villa was designed with beauty, comfort and the California indoor-outdoor lifestyle in mind.
The design of the house revolves around large common spaces on the first floor--ideal for both intimate and large scale entertaining. A double volume entry and staircase anchor the front of the house. The main floor has a two-car garage behind private gates and a three-car garage in a basement parking bay. There are several private bedroom suites on the upper floor along with a gym and exterior porches. The house is about 14,000 square feet, not including patios, decks, terraces, water features, spa and pool. Below the main floor there is a bonus level with a media room, wine cellar and the additional three-car garage, all accessed via a staircase and an elevator. The palette of materials is warm and contemporary with extensive use of wood and stone which amplifies the natural setting and the sense of modern California living.

With a decidedly Japanese influenced aesthetic, this residence achieves a warm, livable contemporary design idiom. Access to the home is via an ascending walk which enters a private garden. A meditation rock garden open to the outside lies beyond the front entrance. The floor plan is both delineated yet open. An office/guest suite overlooks the drive. A secondary bedroom and bath are located in a private side hall. A formal living room connects to the family/kitchen grand salle through an open display case. Ceilings in the family area increase to 17 feet. A library mezzanine overtops the kitchen. A flight of steps leads to the private master suite.
The client owns a collection of modern furnishings and art which achieve their perfect expression in the open design.

The project is a residential compound of 3,000 square feet located on a 6,500 square foot lot. The program called for adding two residential units to a property already accommodating a beach cottage. Most importantly to the client, the project had to be easy to maintain, durable, comfortable, and on budget.
The double residence has an orange corrugated aluminum façade with strategically placed aluminum windows carrying green-tinted glass. To break the volume of the building, the metal corrugation runs in two directions. The contrasting orientations interact with the sun at various times during the day to create startling effects.
The window locations address the need to provide privacy while maximizing interior natural light. The lack of a front yard found redress in the design of roof decks which provide spectacular views and are spacious enough for entertaining and hosting large gatherings.
The interior of the building has ceilings rising over 12 feet and tall windows to provide light and a roomy feeling. The common space of each unit has an open floor plan organized around a central fireplace. The floors are of polished concrete with hydronic heating which in tall spaces creates ideal comfort zones at the human level. The thermostat can be set a few degrees lower than if a FAU system were used, saving money and resources. Operable skylights connected to rain sensors sit atop the staircases and provide natural ventilation. The ceilings are run in bamboo paneling and the bedrooms have palmwood floors.

This remodel transformed a dark, dated and deteriorated 1970s house into a light, airy and contemporary home for a client wanting to display a growing art collection. The new home has 24-foot wide frameless glass doors on the north facing wall which offer views over the pool to the San Fernando Valley below. The doors disappear into closets set in the wall and open the great room to the patio, creating one continuous indoor-outdoor space.
Two bedrooms are enlarged with added clerestory windows. The floor plan was redesigned to facilitate clear circulation, flow, openness, and always spectacular views of the city. The floor contains electric radiant heating which helps when the 24-foot doors are open.
The entry to the house was completely rethought with the addition of a polycarbonate and aluminum canopy which is perforated with holes to allow light to filter down. The color of the filtered light is blue and evolves throughout the day as sun tracks across the sky. The asymmetry of the canopy forces a false perspective on the viewer, making the entry seem further removed from the street.
The remodeled baths add luxuriance and sophistication. The exterior landscaping becomes part of the bath experience.

Located in a twisting canyon above the Hollywood Bowl, this residence will offer its owners the best of contemporary design: light, air, order, comfort, and fun! The site rises steeply above the street and this led to the inverted organization of the vertical home. The ground floor houses a three-car garage. An elevator connects to the bedroom level and then to the kitchen/living areas. Atop the house sits the pool. Both the pool level and the kitchen level have spacious open-air decks which reveal canyon views. The exterior is clad in blue metal siding. The windows are blue tinted and contrast well with an orange canopy flying over the kitchen deck.
The master bedroom is designed on an angled thrust which collects light through six operable windows. Two additional bedrooms complete the floor plan. Above, dining, living, and a library flow into an open kitchen. An indoor-outdoor deck greatly expands the level. Stairs lead to the topside pool and additional deck space.

This artist's studio is located in a Malibu mountain setting among California live oaks and sycamores. The 1500 square feet include a mezzanine, work space, and child play area. Topography and existing vegetation influenced the unique form which seems to hover, poised for flight, among the trees.

MGS Architecture assisted the Hammer Museum in presenting the exhibition, "Frank Lloyd Wright and the Architecture of Japanese Prints" which ran from October through January of 2006. MGS designed display cases and seating which evoked Wright's own 1908 installation at the Art Institute of Chicago. Caroline Peter curated the Hammer Museum Exhibition.

4006 Sawtelle Blvd. | Los Angeles, CA 90066 | 310.301.6419