F I N E L I V I N G I N T H E S A N G A B R I E L V A L L E Y

SEPTEMBER 2009

F I N E L I V I N G I N T H E G R E A T E R P A S A D E N A A R E A

BUFF & HENSMANPasadena’s architects

of the California dream

PLANET-FRIENDLY DESIGNREINCARNATED FURNITURE

UPDATING RESIDENTIAL TREASURES

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16 ~ SEPTEMBER 2009 ~ ARROYO

EARTHLY DESIGN

UPDATING A TREASUREBARTON PHELPS DESIGNS A SEAMLESS OFFICE ADDITION TO AN AWARD-WINNINGBUFF & HENSMAN HOME IN THE SAN GABRIEL FOOTHILLS.BY KATIE KLAPPER | PHOTOS BY TOMMY EWASKO

PRESERVATIONISTS EVERYWHERE BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF WHEN HOME-

OWNERS EMBRACE THEIR ARCHITECTURAL TREASURES, OPTING TO ADAPT

THEM TO CURRENT NEEDS RATHER THAN TEAR THEM DOWN AND START OVER,

AN APPROACH SO POPULAR IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. IT’S A SUSTAINABLE

CHOICE AND THE ONE MADE BY OWNERS OF A CONTEMPORARY GEM IN THE

SAN GABRIEL FOOTHILLS, WHICH WON AN AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

AWARD IN 1990. THE COUPLE APPROACHED LOS ANGELES ARCHITECT BARTON

PHELPS WITH THEIR DESIRE TO ADD AN OFFICE SUITE TO THEIR 5,000-SQUARE-

FOOT HOME. THE ELEGANT TWO-STORY RESIDENCE, DESIGNED BY THE INFLU-

ENTIAL FIRM OF BUFF & HENSMAN IN 1984, WAS CREATED FOR CLIENTS

INSPIRED BY LE CORBUSIER BUILDINGS THEY HAD SEEN IN PARIS.

Indeed, the dynamic arrangement of the structure’s white rectangular volumes does bring to mind the work of theFrench modernist master. Organized by strong vertical and horizontal axes, the U-shaped structure wraps around aninterior courtyard featuring Japanese rock gardens and profuse plantings. An elevated walkway continues straightthrough the house, extending into the backyard and over the swimming pool until it ends at a sculpture wall at the rearof the property.

Inside is a soaring two-story living room shaped by clean white walls, warm oak flooring and rift-sawn oak cabi-netry. Vast quantities of glass and numerous skylights admit plentiful natural light. While grand in scale, the effect, notesthe current owner, is “simple, serene, with a Japanese sensibility.”

After living in the home for a few years, the owners decided to add an extensive office suite. Maintaining the home’sserenity and respecting its original architecture were high priorities, so they brought in a firm known for sensitiveupdates of important buildings — Barton Phelps & Associates. In addition to a nationwide portfolio of private homes,Phelps is responsible for the renovation of UCLA’s historic Royce Hall, as well as the expansions of Frank Gehry’sCabrillo Marine Aquarium and Richard Neutra’s University Elementary School at UCLA.

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Opposite page: A Japanese-style door opensonto an office addition and light-filled balcony.

Near right: A striking marble table anchors thewife’s office space.

Far right: Light spilling onto an interior gardentravels through windows in the floor.

The assignment called for his-and-hers offices,plus a combined office/kitchenette for an assistant, abath and substantial additional storage and book-shelves. Whereas the original plan provided for a sec-ond-floor office/library in an open loft above theliving room, the owners wanted rooms that could beclosed off from the rest of the house — quiet and pri-vate, yet easily accessible. As it became clear that thelogical place for the addition was above the garageand adjacent rooms, another objective emerged —maintaining the natural lighting of the first floor.

Fortunately, as Phelps notes, “The manipulationof daylight was pivotal to my training with the mas-ter, [the prominent late architect] Charles Moore.”To transmit light previously admitted through sky-lights, Phelps located a small Japanese garden at thecenter of the new wing. With its walls opened onthree sides, the garden bounces light from a largeskylight through windows in its floor to the down-stairs bath and hallway. Featuring a bronze Han fig-ure, plantings and river rocks, the garden brings aserene sensibility to the new wing. As the wife andowner acknowledges, “Instead of an insurmountableproblem, Phelps seized this challenge as an opportu-nity to innovate.”

The garden is flanked by two commodiousoffices connected by the assistant’s office/kitchenette.While the wife’s office is anchored by a marble con-ference table and a fireplace, the husband’s space hasa meeting table by a window and a comfortable sofafor casual confabs. Both offices feature skylights andvaried ceiling levels and are completely wired for up-to-date computer networking. To create a seamlessjoin to the rest of the house, Phelps employed manyof the same materials seen elsewhere in the home.The extensive built-in shelving, cabinetry and desksare of rift-sawn oak. The flooring matches the origi-nal, the windows are framed like the originals andhardware is repeated. “Most people don’t know thisis an addition,” the owner says.

Because Phelps is interested in how a buildinginteracts with its surroundings, he used the additionas an opportunity to improve the home’s relation-ship to the outdoors. Where the original plan heavilyfavored views to the pool and rear gardens, Phelpsaccentuated views to the front courtyard. The wife’soffice surrenders most of one wall to floor-to-ceiling windows that open ontocourtyard views and an outdoor balcony that leads to a stunning Zen rockgarden on the roof of the garage.

To complement the owners’ Asian art collection and echo a living-roomtable fashioned from a Japanese door, Phelps integrated a replica at the entryof the new wing, copying the hardware from a Tonsu chest and hiding itssliding hardware behind a soffit. The wife wanted to feature a pair of bronzeHan Dynasty horses above her bluestone office fireplace. To highlight these

pieces, Phelps created a dramatic recessed niche above the fireplace, lit by askylight, and cantilevered a pair of wooden shelves to support the sculptures.

The office addition not only adds substantial space, it completes the orig-inal Buff & Hensman composition. Without expanding the home’s footprint,the new wing strengthens the sense of enclosure around the entry courtyardand provides comfortable, yet separate, work quarters. “This is the part of thehouse we live in the most,” the wife says. “Barton gave us a seamless addition— and yet it is distinctively his, with his genius and flair.” AM

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EARTHLY DESIGN

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Large windows in one of the newoffices fill the room with natural light.