Beachfront Residence

A beachfront parcel in Malibu is not designed the way an inland lot is. The sea sets the terms: the coastal engineering, the hazard analysis and the wave conditions are studied before the massing is fixed, because they decide where the building can sit and how it has to be built. The house that answers those conditions is arranged as a set of quiet volumes, dark render against pale plaster, with timber soffits carried out over the terraces and glass that opens the living rooms to the water on one side and to the hillside on the other.

The site falls steeply behind the house, so the plan works in section as much as in plan. A stair climbs the slope between planted terraces, the upper level takes the long view and the lower level opens directly to the pool deck, where a pool and spa sit in stone against timber decking. Planting is kept to olive, cypress and coastal grasses, which is a practical choice as much as a visual one on a site this exposed.