Chamasmany Residence, Agoura, CA.

Donna Eble and Afshin Chamasmany are incredibly talented designers, who have had a successful career in the advertising world.  They had purchased an un-referenced, simple home by the architects Buff and Hensman; stalwarts of the Case Study Program and significant contributors to the development of mid-century modernism in Los Angeles.  The home had established a point of view about modern living, but was in dire need of a re-evaluation.  Our goal was to enter into a long discussion with Buff and Hensmen concerning things we both cared about, the differences being in the passage of time, changes in social structure and available technologies.  The ‘conversation’ was around the common interests of indoor/ outdoor integration, articulate post and beam structure, and utilization of current technologies.  The site was organized with a bi-folded roof form, generated by using the original roof section and multiplying it.  This form was extended over the entire site and is utilized to form the ground/ landscape manipulations, and the form of the accessory structures to unify them with the home sharing one over-arching organization.  The plan was revised to separate the master suite from the children’s bedrooms, where originally they had been together.  The building section was articulated with greater volumes above the main social areas providing much needed natural light into the interior, and an opportunity to develop natural ventilation through the use of  clerestory windows between the ‘old’ and  ‘new’ roofs.  Existing framing of old growth Douglas Fir was cleaned, re-planed and displayed as exposed framing.  Where new framing was exposed, it is in the form of new technologies in manufactured wood products; oriented strand board and Parallam lumber, making clear this dialogue concerning technology.  A 16 foot long sliding wall panel, utilizing a single pane of glass, opens the living room to the exterior in one motion.  When closed, the door is without divisions, maintaining an unobstructed view of the property.