PROJECT NAME

Upper Benedict Canyon Residence

LOCATION

Los Angeles, CA

CLIENT

Private Residence

PROJECT TEAM

Engineous - MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing)

KWA - Permit Consultant

TYPE

Single Family Residence

SIZE

10,000 GSF

YEAR COMPLETED

2022

As design architects we developed the central features of the house, including the roofline, the entry hall, and the staircase, while maintaining the overall massing and material quality approved at a prior Mulholland Scenic Corridor discretionary approval. We selected the exterior finishes and detailed the roof and deck edge conditions.

We initially started the Upper Benedict Canyon project as Structural and Civil engineers enlisted to redesign the site retaining walls, concrete beams and piles. Subsequently the client asked us to perform full Architectural, Structural and Civil engineering scopes for the house and the site. We became primary design consultants involved in virtually every component of the project including the exterior railings, decks, deck drainage, and plantings. The PECK Architecture team made stone selections and consulted on the interiors. PECK’s furniture and product design company, Formlab Design Studio, designed and fabricated the 15’ solid oak table for the dining room. The table is made from a tree that was felled in the rear yard of an Altadena residence, and subsequently air dried for four years at a yard in Sun Valley.

The elliptical staircase in the entry hall, which rises through a two story rectangular volume, was also produced by utilizing the modeling, software and drafting capabilities of PECK’s furniture and product design company, Formlab Design Studio. By controlling the design and detailing, overseeing fabrication, and managing installation, we were able to save the owner significant costs on the staircase, relative to similar stair projects in Los Angeles. The table will be part of the client’s family for generations as the base is crafted from solid white oak, and the top from four sections of book-matched oak cut from 4” thick slabs.

The project also includes an impressive amount of rooftop solar and battery storage. The house can operate off-grid almost indefinitely with (97) 350 watt LG panels with Enphase micro-inverters (a 33.95 kW system) plus (5) 10 kWh Enphase Encharge batteries (50 kW-hours in total). The property also has an underground rain capture basin (roughly 12,000 gallons) which integrates with a grey water system that captures water from every eligible fixture in the house. The system covers 90% of the owner’s irrigation needs. PECK Civil coordinated the completion of the integrated greywater and storm water capture system.

Green Technology: Advanced Integrated Grey Water and Storm Water Capture System for irrigation, Solar PV, and Solar Battery Storage.

Photos by Lisa Romerein Photography