wallace ridge
project name
wallace ridge
location
beverly hills, ca
completion date
february 2013
project team
architect: marc whipple aia
media coverage
This project began with former clients’ wishes to move back closer to the city of Beverly Hills. They had found a potential property in Trousdale Estates and showed it to Marc for his advice on its possibilities. The property was in disrepair, had a choppy floor plan and gabled roofs, which did not fit the client’s vision of a modern home. The goal of course was to maximize the views, while creating fluid well-lit spaces that would both serve and reflect the lives of the inhabitants. Marc saw a way to stay within the Trousdale Estates’ single story 14-foot height restriction, and still provide spaciousness and a spectacular view.
The entire core of the house was redesigned to feature an open plan, high ceilings, and a sleek flat roof. The front door flanked by large glass panels opens to a wide entry - a perfect stage for a piano - and provides an open sight line across the living area through 12-foot glass walls and 8-foot glass sliding pocket doors to the patio and pool. The clients do a lot of entertaining and required a kitchen that was open to the living and outdoor spaces. Rooms are minimally defined, using tall panels custom stained in a rich coffee bean brown, contrasting with the light walls suited to artwork. The warm modernism the clients wanted was achieved with a harmonious use of materials, as kitchen, dining, entertaining, and living room spaces flow easily one into another. In the living area a large screen television and fireplace are recessed into a wall-sized expanse of Portico Slate tile by SOLI. In the kitchen, the island and countertops are Caesarstone in Lagos Blue, and cabinets have an acrylic lacquered finish.
Large glass pocket doors open to the outside from both the kitchen and living areas, where a patio bar, conversation areas, and a tabletop fireplace all encircle the pool. The primary suite also opens to the pool through large sliding glass panels, and to create a vantage point for the best view, a roof terrace was built atop the primary suite, accessible from the pool area. The primary suite terrace provides space for entertaining, sunbathing, and games of table tennis, with a view all the way to the Pacific. Below, the primary suite wing offers a library/sitting room and a home theater. Next to the bedroom the primary bath continues the use of brown with the tile in the shower - a basket weave pattern from SOLI, and adjacent is a roomy closet/dressing area.
As there is a musician in the family, the clients wanted to find space for a full music studio. Marc found it by digging down and locating the studio beneath the motor court. It includes a separate control room, sound booth for vocal recording, and a tracking room - a soundproofed oasis for creation.
