Santa Monica, California, USA

Montalba Architects achieved to create theVertical Courtyard House, a residential construction that engages the landscape by blending interior and exterior spaces through mindful massing.

The project combines two initial design concepts: an enclosed courtyard sliced by
circulation and landscape, with two volumes comprised of horizontal planes and
landscaped balconies sliced by the landscape and sutured with a connective bridge.

TheVertical Courtyard House project won the 2021 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The resulting form is an L-shaped plan that locks into the site and programmatically
isolates high-traffic areas to the first floor.

Producing moments of transparency, the glazing frames views and integrates flow between rooms.

Sandwiching the first floor is the basement—complete with a guest suite, family room, and walk-out patio—and the third floor featuring a library, two additional bedrooms, bathrooms,
and the master suite.

The library, bordered on two sides by landscape eaves, overlooks a casual seating area close to the front door entry.

Integrated planters and a private deck extend the master bedroom, lending a view of the linear pool and reconnecting to the greenspace below.

A bridge continues the core circulation from the library across to the secondary mass of the house, providing close proximity for family members while maintaining privacy.

The primary design intention of this 4,000 SF single-family residence in Santa
Monica Canyon is creating a living space that crosses the threshold of an exterior
space to create a seamlessly occupiable environment.

At the street front, privacy is interpreted through building envelopes and material organization.

The layering of louvered screens, glazing, and concrete create an abstract yet consistent
the separation between the neighborhood and the residence.

From here, however, these elements begin to shift or disappear altogether, allowing for a hierarchy of security, exposure, and circulation that creates a dynamic, varied experience within the plan.

A folding garden feature sees the backyard greenery work its way subtly into the
the footprint of the living space from the central courtyard into the basement living
quarters.

This relationship to the plot subverts the traditional notion of ‘boundary’
by allowing the home to feel simultaneously protected and emergent of the site.

Coupled with fully operable glazing on each level and the interstitial spaces, the
home feels private from anywhere on the lot.

Project: Vertical Courtyard House
Architects: Montalba Architects, Inc.
Client: Withheld
Contractor: Sarlan Builders
Photographers: Kevin Scott