ADDITION TO A BOAT HOUSE, WOODROW WILSON DR. LOS ANGELES, CA.

As Woodrow Wilson Drive snakes along the north facing ridges of the Hollywood Hills.  There are 9 idiosyncratic homes known as the ‘boat houses’, designed and built by Harry Gesner in the 1950’s, for up and coming members of the Hollywood entertainment community.  Rumor has it that a young Harrison Ford once called one of these ‘home’ at an early point in his career.

The ‘boat houses’ are so named due to their idiosyncratic design which features a form similar to an upside down boat hull.  There are a total of 9 of these homes, of which there are 7 of one type and 2 of a second type.

Our client owns one of the 2 that were designed using a larger, asymmetrical form.  These two designs enjoyed a wider site and therefor were able to utilize a wider original form.  They were still designed as small, one bedroom homes with integrated sloping walls and roofs.

Our proposal was to add a new component to the home without modifying the original home substantially.  We placed the new portion below and adjacent to the original as an aesthetic foil to it.  The new building will be a more strictly modern building, utilizing a cubic form.

The original home will be remodeled and its bedroom removed, allowing the volume to be entirely opened up with a open kitchen dining living area and a powder room.

The new addition, accessed by a new stairway, will consist of a master suite.

The position of the new additional will allow its roof to be accessed by the original home extending its exterior living areas.